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Wedding planning giant The Knot Worldwide has acquired top rival Zola in a deal announced Wednesday – even as the company faces scrutiny on Capitol Hill over its alleged mistreatment of mom-and-pop business owners.
Zola will operate as a standalone business for the time being under The Knot Worldwide’s umbrella of brands, which already includes The Knot, WeddingWire, WeddingPro, Hitched and several others, the companies said in a press release. The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed.
The Knot and Zola each offer similar services to couples, including wedding registries and personal websites as well as connecting to vendors like florists, DJs and dressmakers.
Zola co-CEO Shan-Lyn Ma sought to reassure vendors about the deal in a memo obtained by The Post, asserting that the transaction will help “will unlock greater visibility and new opportunities” for small businesses reliant on the wedding sites to reach customers.
“We know an announcement like this naturally brings questions about what this means for your business, and how you work with us,” Ma wrote. “We want to reassure you: maintaining continuity and stability for your business is our highest priority.”
Ma and fellow co-CEO Rachel Jarrett will “continue to lead Zola” and will eventually join The Knot Worldwide’s executive leadership team once the deal closes, according to the memo. Zola pledged to provide “clear advance notice” to small business owners “long before introducing any new cross-platform opportunities or updates.”
The deal will be subject to “customary closing conditions, including any required regulatory clearances,” the companies said. It’s unclear if the FTC or Justice Department’s antitrust unit will scrutinize the transaction.
A Knot Worldwide spokesperson declined comment. Zola did not immediately respond.
The Knot is led by CEO Raina Moskowitz, a former Etsy executive who has focused on overhauling the company’s platform with AI-powered planning tools and rebuilding its relationship with disgruntled vendors.
“Welcoming Zola to our portfolio is an exciting opportunity to help more wedding professionals grow their businesses and create more personalized, connected experiences for couples, from their first moment of inspiration through ‘I do,’” Moskowitz said in a statement.
In August, Bloomberg reported that The Knot Worldwide’s credit rating had been cut into junk territory by Moodys Ratings, which labeled the company as a “very high” credit risk.
The Knot is owned by investment firm Permira and has operated as a private company since 2018. Meanwhile, Zola raised $100 million in 2018 at a valuation of roughly $600 million, with investors that included NBCUniversal and Goldman Sachs Investment Partners.
The Knot Worldwide has recently faced heat from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who cited The Post’s exclusive reporting on alleged wrongdoing at The Knot while “strongly” urging the FTC to investigate the firm last October.
At the time, Grassley said his office had received nearly 200 separate complaints from wedding vendors who accused The Knot of providing fake or spam customer leads, locking them into ad deals that were difficult to cancel or failed to provide the promised benefits.
On Feb. 18 of this year, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent a letter to Grassley warning that the alleged conduct, if proven true, “can potentially violate laws the FTC enforces, including Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits deceptive or unfair business practices.”
Ferguson said that while he was unable to “disclose the existence or details of any non-public investigations, I can continue to assure you that protecting small businesses from deceptive practices remains a priority for the Commission.”
The Knot Worldwide has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, with a spokesperson telling The Post in response to Grassley’s October 2025 letter that the company “does not engage in fraudulent or deceptive business practices.”
As The Post reported in July 2024, The Knot Worldwide also triggered some alarms with its past acquisition of wedding startup Simply Eloped – with some vendors stating they were concerned that the company was seizing too much control over the industry.
Representatives for Grassley and the FTC declined comment. The DOJ did not immediately return a request for comment.
Reuters was first to report on the deal.