Company gives its domain business a shot in the arm with 1.6 million more domains under management.
[Updated with transaction price]
Domain name registrar and mobile access company Tucows (NASDAQ:TCX) announced today that it is acquiring the international wholesale domain reseller channel of Melbourne IT Limited (ASX:MLB).
By acquiring these assets, Tucows will gain hundreds of resellers and approximately 1.6 million domain names under management.
Tucows is already the third or fourth-largest domain name registrar, depending on how you count accreditations.
In the past couple years, the company has been using its cash to buy back shares and invest in gigabit internet service. Meanwhile, its domain name business has remained mostly flat over that time.
The price hasn’t been disclosed yet, but likely will be in a future SEC filing. The original release said the amount was immaterial to Tucows. But Melbourne IT disclosed that it is for AUD $8.1-$8.4 million, which is about 4.5x-4.7x FY 2016 EBITDA for the business.
Andrew, here is a related article from Australian media which spins it from Melbourne IT’s point of view.
http://www.smh.com.au//breaking-news-business/melbourne-it-buys-infoready-for-154m-20160316-4c469.html