August 10, 2017

Donuts raises USD 110 million to fund Rightside acquisition

The cash was generated through bank financing following a takeover agreement that was reached in June.

Internet of Things

US based domain name registry Donuts today revealed that it has managed to raise USD 110 million in financing as the company pushes towards the fulfillment of its proposed acquisition of fellow domain registry Rightside Group. This announcement comes in the wake of the USD 213 million takeover agreement reached between the two companies back in June this year.

Donuts says the funds arrived in the form of a business loan backed by Silicon Valley Bank, which is a division of the SVB Financial Group. Additional monetary support was provided by financial entities like Cadence Bank, Comerica Bank, Pacific Western Bank and Umpqua Bank.

Donuts further state that some of the funds will also be used for “general corporate purposes”.

Earlier in June, Donuts announced its intention to purchase the publicly traded Rightside Group for USD 10.60 per share, which amounts to USD 213 million in cash.

The two companies were previously located just a few miles away from one another, but following the acquisition announcement, they now share a common headquarters in Kirkland, Washington.

Apart from proximity, the two registries also share a colorful history. In 2016, Rightside declined what it referred to as an ‘unsolicited and opportunistic’ offer from Donuts to buy its domain registry business for USD 70 million, which Rightside CEO Taryn Naidu believed significantly undervalued Rightside’s registry assets.