Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

GoDaddy acquires Cayman domain registrar Uniregistry

GoDaddy acquires Cayman domain registrar Uniregistry

GoDaddy Inc. has struck a deal to acquire Uniregistry’s domain registrar and marketplace businesses.
Uniregistry was launched in Cayman in 2014 by industry pioneer Frank Schilling to provide domain name investors with specialised tools to register, manage and sell domains.

The company later expanded its services, but domain investors always remained the focus of the business.

“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,” said GoDaddy vice president Paul Nicks in a press statement.

“Combining Uniregistry’s solutions and incredible knowledge with our platform will help investors succeed and advance future innovations for them.”

In an email to the Cayman Compass, Uniregistry CEO Schilling, said, “This really is a terrific day for Cayman. A mainstream Fortune 500 technology company is setting up and expanding with the kind of real-world tech presence you would normally find in Silicon Valley.”

The deal also covers a portfolio of more than 350,000 domain names that Schilling has built up over the past two decades. It will bring GoDaddy’s portfolio to about 1 million domains.

“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,” Nicks said.

GoDaddy is a New York Stock Exchange-listed domain registrar and web-hosting company with an expected turnover of close to US$3 billion in 2019. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.

Uniregistry staff in Cayman have been informed that there will be no changes in the interim and that GoDaddy plans to maintain operations on island. The registrar service will continue to operate at its existing website.

“There are between 40 and 50 people at Uni, who will form a part of the Godaddy family, and I understand that Godaddy will be renewing its lease at Governors Square so you could expect an expansion of their presence,” Schilling said.

In a corporate blog post, Nicks added that Uniregistry’s products and services for domain investors will bolster the combined product offerings. “Their extensive experience and capabilities in the industry will bring a valuable perspective to how we operate as a team,” he wrote.

Uniregistry’s brokerage team, meanwhile, “will be a huge asset for our customers”, Nicks added. “Combined with the GoDaddy team, they will be able to work together to leverage strategies and contacts in order to provide great service to customers who need brokerage.”

Uniregistry informed customers that “teams and key contacts will remain and all systems will continue to function” in the same way. “The Market will continue selling domain names and it’ll be business as usual. As time rolls on we’ll be looking at how the Uniregistry Market paired with GoDaddy’s expertise can serve the greater investor community at large,” an email to customers said.

Schilling said he is proud of his team, which will now have the opportunity to scale the solutions developed at Uniregistry with GoDaddy’s customers.

Schilling said his 50th birthday was the biggest factor for the sale. “I have been plying my trade for nearly 20 years and Godaddy made us a financially excellent offer.”

He denied that the divorce from his wife Michele, who is a co-owner of the business, had played a role. “While it’s a happy coincidence that there is liquidity in one of my ex-wife’s and my shared business units, she and I share other business interests and will be joined in those for years to come. And, of course, we both continue to reside in Cayman and raise two children together here.”

Schilling said he will remain in the industry, operating the company’s back-end registry division, which was not part of the GoDaddy transaction. The Uniregistry domain registry manages top-level domain names like ‘.link’, ‘.game’ or ‘.help’ with offices in Cayman and in Califormia.

“Think of it like the power plant or utility that keeps the lights on. Godaddy has bought all our consumer-facing and retail infrastructure, but for .ky and the other extensions you see at www.Uniregistry.link, we will continue to own and operate those extensions,” he explained.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×