VeriSign Acquires GreatDomains.com
Addition Extends Company's Leadership in Providing Web Identity Services to Businesses of All Sizes
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, October 25, 2000 - VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN), the leading provider of Internet trust services, today announced the acquisition of Los Angeles-based GreatDomains.com, the world's leading provider of services in the secondary domain name market. The addition of GreatDomains to the VeriSign family extends the company's leadership in providing comprehensive Web identity services to businesses of all sizes looking to establish, extend and protect their presence on the Internet.
"The secondary market for domain names has matured into a strong segment of the Web identity business and GreatDomains has demonstrated innovation and clear market leadership in this area," said Jim Rutt, CEO of Network Solutions, Inc., VeriSign's domain name registration business. "The addition of GreatDomains' domain name exchange capabilities to our current range of offerings will provide customers in every industry with even greater choice in securing a domain name to build their online presence."
The GreatDomains acquisition will create the most comprehensive source for domain name registration services in the world. GreatDomains' third party domain name inventory will be integrated into the purchase process for domain names found at www.networksolutions.com thereby allowing prospective customers to search for domain names in the primary and secondary markets at the same time. In addition, escrow and other secure exchange services will be offered.
"Like a stock exchange, VeriSign and GreatDomains will now provide a trusted marketplace for traders," said Doug Wolford, group general manager of Network Solutions' Web Presence Services group. "This is a natural extension of our business and expands our offerings to meet the growing needs of our customers who will find it even easier to find and secure the exact domain name they want."
Through VeriSign's acquisition of GreatDomains, the company's Network Solutions subsidiary continues to build on its leadership position in the secondary domain name market. In July of 2000, Network Solutions acquired ezDomainAuction.com, a key player in the marketing of domain names with a leading-edge technology platform to find, buy and list domain name registrations in the secondary market.
"We are excited to join the VeriSign family, the most trusted company on the Internet," said Jeff Tinsley, CEO of GreatDomains.com who joins VeriSign as director of Secondary Market Name Services. "As the leader in the secondary market for domain names with the largest inventory, number of registered users, and traffic, GreatDomains is joining with Network Solutions to create the most comprehensive set of related services to provide businesses with the most efficient marketplace for domain name registrations, both new and 'used'."
Earlier this year Procter & Gamble chose GreatDomains to list many of its domain names in the secondary market, including beautiful.com, scent.com, dry.com and flu.com.
About GreatDomains.com
GreatDomains.com is the premier marketplace to transfer and appraise quality domain names and developed Web sites. GreatDomains.com's marketplace has represented most of the high-profile domain names transferred including loans.com for $3 million, drugs.com for $823,000 and cinema.com for $700,000. As a domain name expert, GreatDomains.com is dedicated to offering the largest inventory of third party domain names and a comprehensive set of related services, including contract generation, escrow, appraisal and trademark registration searches. A founder and pioneer in the domain name industry since 1996, the mission of GreatDomains.com is to seamlessly facilitate the process between buyers and sellers. For more information, visit the site at www.GreatDomains.com.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers and individuals. The companies' domain name, digital certificate and payment services provide the critical Web identity, authentication and transaction infrastructure that online businesses need to conduct secure e-commerce and communications. With nearly 14 million paid registrations, VeriSign and Network Solutions have one of the largest business subscriber bases on the Internet. VeriSign's services are available through its Web sites www.verisign.com and www.nsol.com or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world. |
