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Here's
the The Lowdown from
DN Journal,
updated daily to fill you in on the
latest buzz going around the domain name
industry.
The Lowdown is
compiled by DN Journal Editor & Publisher Ron
Jackson. |
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GoDaddy
Makes Blockbuster Acquisition of Uniregistry's
Registrar & Market and Frank
Schilling's Domain Portfolio
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In
our annual State
of the Industry Cover Story
published two weeks ago, one of the
most frequently made predictions by
our panel of experts was that we
would see much more consolidation
in the industry in 2020. That point
could not have been hammered home
harder than it was today when GoDaddy
announced
a jaw-dropping deal to acquire Uniregistry's
registrar operations, their domain
marketplace and Uniregistry Founder Frank
Schilling's entire Name
Administration domain portfolio of
more than 350,000 domains.
GoDaddy also acquired Brandsight
in the transaction, an add that will
help them better support
enterprise-level customers. The
price paid for those assets was not
revealed.
Schilling,
a domain industry pioneer who was
profiled in two DNJournal Cover
Stories, one in 2007
and another in 2012,
will retain Uniregistry's new
gTLD registry operations that
includes 26 TLDS as well as
the backend platform serving those
extensions and others. So, Schilling
will remain an active participant in
the industry after the deal with
GoDaddy closes in Q2-2020 if
all goes as planned.
For
Uniregistry customers, things will continue
as they are now with no major
staff or operational changes
expected over the balance of the
year as the two firms work through
what is expected to be a smooth
transition.
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Frank Schilling
Uniregistry
Founder
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Paul
Nicks
GM & VP, Aftermarket,
GoDaddy.com |
GoDaddy
Vice President Paul
Nicks, noted
"Uniregistry is unique
in that domain investors
built it from the ground up so
their products and services
have always catered to the
domain investor community,
This acquisition reinforces GoDaddy's
commitment to domain
investors. Combining
Uniregistry's solutions and
incredible knowledge with
our platform will help
investors succeed and
advance future innovations
for them."
Nicks
was also excited about
acquiring Schilling's domain
portfolio, adding,
"Frank is one of the
smartest and savviest
investors, and his portfolio
shows that knowledge and
acumen. We can't wait to
bring these to market for
our customers with
competitive prices."
After
new GoDaddy CEO Aman
Bhutani delivered the
keynote address at the 2020
NamesCon Global
conference on January 30, I
wrote that he
had made a very strong
personal commitment to
championing the |
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domain
investor/developer community
that I felt was extremely
good news for our industry
going forward. GoDaddy's
purchase of Uniregistry
quickly underscored
that (as does Paul Nicks'
decision to serve the community
as a Board Member of the Internet
Commerce Association,
the non-profit organization
that protects domain
registrant's rights). The
company has the money and
the marketing skill to
dramatically elevate
recognition of what
we do in mainstream
business circles, and to
portray it in a more accurate
light than has often
been the case among those
with little understanding of
the business. |
Frank
Schilling, who built Uniregistry to
be a custom-tailored platform to
meet the needs of domain investors
and developers is also confident
that GoDaddy is the right company to
carry what he and his team created
forward. Schilling said, "One
of the mantras we repeat around
the Uniregistry office is that we
dream about building a company of
permanence and value. When I started
speaking with GoDaddy, it became
clear how passionate we both are
about our customers and this
industry. I realized the best way to
fulfill our mantras and dreams was
to join with Godaddy. I'm so proud
of the team we've put together. It
is incredibly rewarding to give
them the opportunity to scale our
solutions with GoDaddy's customers. The
years ahead will truly be
awesome!"
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(Posted
February 11, 2020) |
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If
you've been out of the loop lately, catch up in the Lowdown
Archive!
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Lowdown, so please email [email protected]
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(for example a URL if you read it in a forum or on a site
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