The acquisition that wasn't

So I bought this "lifetime" KVM from RackNerd in 2023, small provider, very cheap, I knew the risk but thought why not. Then in September 2025 I heard they might be getting bought, you know how it goes with these hosting acquisitions. I was worried, sent ticket yesterday to ask about any changes, made test order to test their control panel, everything looked the same.

But now it is October and... nothing. No news. My RackNerd VPS still works but the network is worse, support tickets take 5 days, and when I asked again they just said "please be patient, details forthcoming." I checked around and nobody announced anything. Did anyone else follow this? What happened? I am worried because my yearly backup VPS is there and I need to know if I should migrate now or wait. Cheers!

I keep about thirty client sites running. Amsterdam.

I used to worry about consolidation in this industry. You see the pattern every year: a host gets bought, the brand gets absorbed, and six months later the renewal prices shift. I had a dedicated box with Hetzner in Falkenstein and a couple of RackNerd VPS for testing, and I was watching both of them because the rumour mill kept spinning.

• August 2025: people on the boards were talking about due diligence
• September 2025: someone claimed RackNerd publicly referenced ongoing discussions
• Late September 2025: the same people said it fell through
• October 2025: nothing happened, no deal, no relationship

I never saw primary sources for any of this. It was all second-hand claims from people who sounded like they wanted to sound informed. The whole timeline existed in forum posts and nowhere else.

Hetzner still runs the auction at https://www.hetzner.com/sb, still has no phone support, still makes you send your passport photo to a German datacenter. RackNerd still drops the Black Friday specials. Nothing changed.

I moved my own stuff off RackNerd before the renewal because I did not want to be around if the rumour turned real. That was my call, my risk assessment, not a prediction. The acquisition that wasn't cost me a Saturday of migrations for nothing.

Oof, due diligence failure. That's... actually worse than a normal acquisition collapse?

I had a fun little project on RackNerd too, tiny NAT VPS for $8/year. It actually works still but I'm seeing packet loss spike to 12% in evenings.

--- 203.0.113.4 ping statistics ---
100 packets transmitted, 87 received, 13% packet loss

Guess they were shopping for a buyer because the numbers didn't work.

This is exactly why the proposed Digital Services Act amendments matter. Article 13 flashbacks all over again—providers making material representations about business continuity without regulatory filing requirements.

RackNerd's announcement created legitimate expectation. If they're insolvent and trading anyway, that's not just "limping on," that's potentially fraudulent trading under several EU member state laws. GDPR compliance becomes moot if the entity lacks operational capacity to respond to subject access requests within 30 days. I've seen this pattern with three hosts since 2022.

Oh no I also have hos with RackNerd very cheap yearly plan I buy 2024

They email me "exciting news we are join big family" I think very good now I worry

I open ticket 7 day no answer ạ

Should I migrate now or wait more ạ

TRANSLATION the books were BAD

RackNerd is basically a ZOMBIE now walking dead hos

I give it 6 months before the "network maintenance" that never ends

MOVE YOUR DATA NOW

Fighting! I had same with GreenCloudVPS "merger" in 2024

Due diligence = they found the money was gone

Kk

My vps died 3 months later no refund

BACKUP EVERYTHING

So the acquisition page was just... lies?