As reported by Reuters, domain name provider Godaddy is in exclusive talks to acquire Host Europe Group (HEG). The move is reported as an expansion measure by GoDaddy in higher margin businesses beyond the initial set up of websites.
The report states that the purchase of HEG would help GoDaddy accelerate its shift into the more profitable web hosting business as well as broaden its customer base in Europe. HEG serves mainly small and medium-sized businesses and is one of Europe’s largest independent web hosting firms and could be valued at about 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion).
HEG is the parent company for several registrar brands and it owns UK-based 123-reg and DomainMonster. 123-reg has 914,322 gTLD domains and HEG says it manages over seven million domains on the whole.
In 2013, HEG was acquired by private equity group Cinven for £438 million ($545 million). The company is claimed to have 1.7 million customers and 1,300 employees spread across eight countries. It primarily operates in the UK and Germany.