BlackRock has again cut the value of its stake in Automattic, marking its shares down by a further 17% in its latest quarterly disclosure report.
As first reported by Samuel Sidler, the global asset manager now values its shares in Automattic at $31.03, down from $37.50 in December 2024. In December, TechCrunch reported that BlackRock had marked down its investment in Automattic from $41.70 earlier in 2024 to $37.50.
BlackRock originally invested at $85 per share during Automattic’s $288 million Series E round in 2021, when the company was valued at $7.5 billion. The latest markdown, published in March, represents a 63.5% decline in value since 2021.
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce, is run by Matt Mullenweg, a co-founder of WordPress. Automattic has historically been the largest contributor to the WordPress project.
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, with $11.6 trillion in assets under management.
Valuation markdowns like this have become more common in the current tech downturn. According to TrueUp’s tech stock tracker, more than 500 private tech companies have faced valuation declines of 25% or more since 2021.
Asked about Automattic’s markdown, Mullenweg quoted American economist Benjamin Graham: “In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.”
The markdown comes as Automattic remains locked in a legal battle with WP Engine. The two companies have been at odds since October 2024, when Mullenweg publicly accused WP Engine of profiting off WordPress without giving enough back, and of trademark infringement. WP Engine was subsequently blocked from accessing WordPress.org but later won a preliminary injunction to regain access.
During an onstage interview at TechCrunch Disrupt in October, TechCrunch Editor in Chief Connie Loizos noted that BlackRock had marked down its investment in Automattic to almost half, and pressed Mullenweg on whether the dispute with WP Engine was driven by financial pressure.
In April, Automattic laid off 16% of its global workforce, citing a need to “improve productivity, profitability, and capacity to invest.”
Loizos also floated a theory that Automattic was trying to lower WP Engine’s valuation to position itself for a potential acquisition. Mullenweg didn’t respond to the question, however, in an October interview with The Repository he suggested the legal battle could ultimately result in a corporate acquisition by Automattic.
In September 2024, Mullenweg wrote on X that BlackRock owns only 0.6% of Automattic and holds no voting rights. In his interview with Loizos, he confirmed that he votes 84% of the shares on the company’s board.
