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M+M adds $14m to new gTLDs war chest

Kevin Murphy, February 10, 2012, 09:57:49 (UTC), Domain Registries

Top Level Domain Holdings has raised £9 million ($14.2 million) with a share sale, boosting its ability to apply for new generic top-level domains.
TLDH, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London, owns registry provider Minds + Machines and has interests in a number of new gTLD joint ventures.
The shares were sold to “institutional and other investors” for 8.25p each, the company said.
TLDH now has a cash pile of about $25 million, CEO Antony Van Couvering said in a press release. Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush added:

TLDH management believes that the increased capital will allow it to increase significantly the number of applications it is able to make, allowing it to develop a wider, more diversified portfolio of names in multiple languages and scripts

The current cash balance would allow it to apply for 135 gTLDs, if it blew the whole lot on application fees.
I expect its actual number of applications to be more like 30, which would leave TLDH with about $20 million in reserve for fighting contested applications and start-up costs.
It could also try to raise some more money from the markets when some of its gTLD applications start being approved, of course.
Being the only public company entirely devoted to new gTLDs may leave TLDH in an interesting tactical position a few months from now — competing applicants are going to have a relatively good insight into the strength of its hand if any of its applications go to auction.

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Comments (2)

  1. Tom G says:
    February 10, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    With this, my guess is over 50 applications which TLDH will be at least partnered in.
    Many of their projects will be under different entities – DotNYC llc, Doteco llc. etc, which will have access to funding outside the TLDH war chest.
    The expansion into other languages and scripts is significant.

    Reply
  2. Drewbert says:
    February 11, 2012 at 6:08 am

    >The expansion into other languages and scripts is significant.
    Yes. That’s where the real expansion will take place rather than 2nd rate alternatives trying to knock .com off it’s perch.

    Reply

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