I just received a phone call from Dan Pulcrano, CEO of Boulevards New Media Inc. , and he was happy to share the news that his company sold Denver.com in a “seven figure transaction.” The buyer is Denver businessman Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate, and I was able to confirm the deal with him over the phone. Niederman also recently bought Boulder.com and he also owns and operates DenverRealEstate.com.
The exact terms and financial value of the deal are subject to a non disclosure agreement, but Boulevards will continue to manage the property on behalf of the buyer. Prior to the deal, Neiderman had been the exclusive real estate partner on Denver.com. Niederman’s company did $1.1 billion in residential real estate transactions last year and is on target for between $1.3-$1.4 billion this year.
Boulevards bought the domain name in 1996 for $6,250 as part of what is believed to be the domain name industry’s first significant portfolio purchase. Boulevards is currently the largest owner and operator of top tier US city names with properties that include Seattle.com, SanFrancisco.com, LosAngeles.com, Dallas.com, SanAntonio.com, Houston.com, Philadelphia.com, Memphis.com, Minneapolis.com, Raleigh.com and others.
After speaking with both the buyer and seller, it is very clear that this transaction is a win/win for both parties. Owning Denver.com will certainly benefit Niederman and his agents, and Pulcrano was able to sell the domain name for a considerable amount of money.
You can read the press release announcing the deal below.
Denver Real Estate Entrepreneur Purchases Denver.com
Silicon Valley-based Boulevards New Media Inc. has sold Denver.com to Denver businessman Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate.
Mr. Niederman is also the owner of Boulder.com and his experience with that site convinced him of the unique traffic, branding, marketing and sales potential of Geographical Names, known in the domain name industry as Geo Domains, to expand his real estate business in the future.
“I viewed the purchase of Denver.com as a unique and historic opportunity. To acquire the intuitive Internet brand of a world-class city like Denver is very rare,” Niederman said. “It fits in perfectly with Kentwood Real Estate’s strategic Internet vision of integrating lifestyle and neighborhood-specific content with real estate services.” Kentwood Real Estate currently operates its business at DenverRealEstate.com.
The transaction includes a multi-year agreement under which Boulevards will continue to operate Denver.com. Boulevards is the largest owner and operator of top-tier US city names. Its properties include Seattle.com, SanFrancisco.com, LosAngeles.com, Dallas.com, SanAntonio.com, Houston.com, Philadelphia.com, Memphis.com, Minneapolis.com and Raleigh.com.
Prior to the sale, Niederman’s firm provided MLS listings and property search services for Denver.com’s real estate channel. “We believe local ownership will give Denver.com deeper roots in the community and further our efforts to provide a strong commerce and information site at Denver’s most important web address,” said Boulevards CEO Dan Pulcrano.
Congratulations to both. Looks like it was a good deal for both. Boulevards sure does have some good domains.
A great move for Boulevards and Kentwood Real Estate. As a Denver resident, I’m excited about this deal!
16,000% return on investment. Not bad!
@ B.
Agreed… solid return and shows that his other assets have significant value.
Congrats to the buyer and he got his dream domain name now! He gets it. The end user. He will be profitable behind Denver.com with his realestate company. His internet ventures.
He should get the “get it award” for 2012. Last year was Property.com, Properties.com
Now this year goes to Peter and Denver.com!
Job well done! Congrats Peter.
@ Jeff
I agree and will nominate him.
What a nice deal on a world class domain. I’ve held Dan’s portfolio in high regard for many years with all those great cities. I sold DenverRealEstate.biz to Peter Niederman about 3 years ago which looks to be parked at this time. He sure seems to be wrapping up Denver with his most recent .com purchase.
Thought I recognised that name…type in DenverBlog.com.
Interesting that Denver.com doesn’t rank in the top 50 results for “denver” or “denver real estate” — wonder if it got hit by a penalty.
@ Scott
Interestingly, DenverRealEstate.com does rank #1 for the term. Also interestingly, I understand that real estate leads from Denver.com convert well for Mr. Niederman.
@ Elliot
Yep, I see DenverRealEstate.com ranks #1 or first page for many related RE terms (as it should)
But Denver.com not ranking anywhere in the top 50 results in Google for the main term “Denver” likely means Google hit it with some kind of penalty — probably during Panda or Penguin.
You can see here the site used to rank for many more phrases at the beginning of the year, then dropped off.
http://www.semrush.com/search.php?q=denver.com&db=us
Obviously it must convert for many long-tail keywords or Peter wouldn’t have made the 7 figure transaction.
Sure Denver.com is a solid type-in. Wouldn’t matter much if the domain is not ranked in the top searches. You an easily get ranked for various keywords that hold extreme value.
The best leads are long tail searches that are exact match. You can rank on page #5 for the generic, but convert on related keywords that deliver the bulk of the traffic.
Denver.com is a great domain. BTW, Denver is a nice city. My brother and his family live out there. Visited this past April for three days. Good job opportunities. Definitely a booming area.
Great domain. Better than the mediocre domains some domain companies attempt to pass off as quality. Congrats to both parties.