Congratulations to Clark Landry and his team at Hecta Media on their recent portfolio acquisition. According to a news release on Forbes this morning, publicly traded Hecta Media (AIM Exchange) purchased a portfolio consisting of approximately 60,000 domain names for $1,450,000. They also retain the option to purchase two additional portfolios for $1,900,000. According to the release, the company expects revenues of $750,000 annually, which is important because the renewal fees will be over $400,000 per year (assuming they are all .com names). Based on my back of the napkin calculations, this is just over a 4 year revenue multiple.
I had the chance to meet with Clark Landry, CEO of Hecta Media, several months ago in New York, and he is a dynamic person, with an entrepreneurial spirit. When we were initially speaking, I had thought most large portfolios for sale with good names were significantly more expensive than what Hecta was able to pay for it. My advice to Clark would be to get pare down the portfolio of non-producing, poor names to save on the renewal fees. Sometimes you have but a bucket of rocks to find some gems.
Hecta Media Acquires Large Domain Portfolio
Assorted.com – Generic Dictionary Domain Name
I am selling the domain name Assorted.com for a limited time only. The Buy It Now price is $9,500. Upon purchase, I will donate $1,000 to the Internet Commerce Association to help domain registrants defend their rights.
Post “sold” in the comments section to buy it now.
Jessica Bookstaff Elected Chairman of Associated Cities
Congratulations to my friend Jessica Bookstaff, who was recently elected Chairman of Associated Cities, the premier organization that represents over 100 city .com domain names. Jess spent time on the Associated Cities Board of Directors, and she follows in the footsteps of former chairman Dan Pulcrano, founder of Boulevards, whose company owns one of the finest geographic domain portfolios assembled.
Jess has a history of leading successful geographic domain businesses. Two of her main websites, PigeonForge.com and Durango.com, have tremendous records of growth. In fact, since acquiring PigeonForge.com in 2000, the site has grown an astounding 1,400%. Jess has always graciously given advice to fellow geo domain owners, and she is one of the brightest individuals in the industry.
I wish Jess luck as she takes on this well-deserved position.
Electronic Frontier Foundation Opposes Snowe Legislation
As first reported by Mike and Sahar, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has voiced their opposition to the recently proposed Snowe APCPA legislation. According to their official website, the EFF is a non-profit organization that “has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.”
From what I have been reading elsewhere, not only would this proposed bill be detrimental to small businesses who own domain names, but it could also hurt the First Amendment rights of Americans who express their view on the Internet. As people continue to examine this bill and its implications, I hope they realize just how impactful this would be on anonymous free speech and domain ownership.
Register for Domain Roundtable
With Domain Roundtable just over a month away, now is the time to make travel plans and register to attend the conference. Organized by Name Intelligence, parent of DomainTools, and sponsored by the biggest companies in the domain space, the conference will be held in San Francisco, the first time it’s being held outside of Seattle. There is an open door policy at the conference, and anyone and everyone is invited to attend. The idea behind this is to facilitate discussion and debate among people of various backgrounds.
Why should you attend Domain Roundtable? According to Jay Westerdal, President of Name Intelligence,
“Domain Roundtable is geared towards serious domainers that want an advantage. The contracts and ideas that people take away from the Roundtable every year is extraordinary. Several times after a show I hear first hand from people that meet someone randomly at the show and now are entering into a very profitable agreement because of it.”
Unfortunately, I will be with my family in New Hampshire celebrating a Jewish holiday, otherwise I would be attending the conference. From my experience, each domain conference has a unique feel, and they all present great opportunities to meet other people within the industry. I have had the opportunity to meet many industry leaders and learn about various companies within the space at similar conferences. This is a super opportunity to learn and network.
Moniker Auction to Benefit Internet Commerce Association
Moniker recently announced that they will auction domain names at no cost to benefit the Internet Commerce Association at the TRAFFIC East conference in Orlando. This is a great opportunity to help the Internet Commerce Association while earning a tax deduction (for contributors) or enhancing your portfolio (for buyers). Moniker plans to auction the best 5 names in their live auction format, and the remaining names that were selected will be auctioned in the silent auction.Thank you to Moniker and TRAFFIC for supporting the rights of domain registrants by supporting the Internet Commerce Association. Please submit donated names to Michael Collins and he will forward them to Moniker.