Donuts, the world’s largest operator of new domain name extensions, today publicly announced its interest in acquiring Rightside Group’s entire registry of generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and related assets for $70 million in an all-cash deal. Donuts believes that this potential transaction presents them with a strategic opportunity to bolster its gTLD portfolio.
Rightside has in the past received expressions of interest from Donuts relating to a potential acquisition but has repeatedly disregarded offers.
Donuts’ says their latest move is in keeping with their strategy of expanding its selection of not-com domain extensions, such as .movie, .ltd, .agency, .email, .school, .group, and many more. Donuts already leads the industry, having secured 196 domain extensions, and claims it is best positioned to market these assets by driving industry consolidation.
Donuts’ is appealing publicly to Rightside’s shareholders by characterizing their acquisition as a win for all parties. They claim that:
- Separating Rightside’s registry and registrar businesses is the best approach to unlocking value in both businesses.
- The proposed acquisition complements Donuts’ current portfolio and expands the range of domains that it can offer.
- Donuts is the optimal acquirer for Rightside’s registry business given their long-standing business relationship, shared technology platform, and regulatory considerations, which indicate the highest certainty of deal closure.