GoDaddy’s NameFind is buying some domain names from Tucows.
Tucows (NASDAQ:TCX) appears to have sold some of its domain name portfolio to GoDaddy’s (NYSE:GDDY) NameFind.
Today I noticed that some domain names in Tucows’ YummyNames portfolio have undergone a Whois change. While the owner and contact details still point to YummyNames, they have an additional notice at the bottom of the record:
Registration Service Provider:
Namefind LLC, [email protected]
+1.7813736856
See Biologist.com for example.
This is similar to a notice that would appear when one of Tucows resellers manages a domain. It seems that Tucows has sold domain names to NameFind which are, for now, in a reseller account.
I reached out to both GoDaddy and Tucows for comment. GoDaddy VP Paul Nicks responded:
We can confirm that GoDaddy has acquired some additional domain names. The domain names we are acquiring will help anyone looking to make a statement online. We will soon be adding the names to the NameFind portfolio. We will not be disclosing the seller’s identity as they have requested to remain private.
Tucows has not yet responded to the request for comment. Depending on the size of the transaction, it might be disclosed in an upcoming SEC filing.
Tucows has many portfolios including YummyNames and its Mailbank portfolio of surnames. I have not yet detected any movement among the surnames, and only some within the YummyNames portfolio.
This transaction is a bit different from other domain portfolio acquisitions GoDaddy has done. GoDaddy has typically acquired portfolios that haven’t been optimized for sales velocity. GoDaddy then prices the domain at reasonable amounts and adds them to its syndicated network on Afternic. Tucows has already been fairly good at pricing and syndicating its domain listings.
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