Fund.com - Us$9,999,950 Sold!

[IDNer]

Clek Media Inc. Brokers World-Record $10 Million Domain Sale

March 11, 2008: 11:59 AM EST

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/...re/0373359.htm

Clek Media Inc. ("Clek") today announced that it has brokered the world-record sale of the domain FUND.COM for US$9,999,950 in an all-cash transaction. Clek, a media consulting firm, represented the seller of the domain, assisting in both the negotiation and closing of the transaction. The buyer is Fund.com Inc. (OTCBB: FNDM), a New York firm previously named Meade Technologies Inc. To date the buyer has revealed their plans for the domain mostly in filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Clek believes that the nearly $10 million purchase price for FUND.COM represents the highest price ever paid for an Internet domain. The purchase price tops what the Guinness World Records books report as the highest previous price, the memorable BUSINESS.COM purchase. Ex-Disney executive, Jake Winebaum of eCompanies Ventures, acquired BUSINESS.COM for $7.5 million in 1999, which created some public media controversy at that time for the seemingly high price. However, in July 2007 BUSINESS.COM was sold to yellow pages publisher, RH Donnelly, for $345 million, 47 times the purchase price of the domain.

Business and Wall Street investors continue to assign higher values to internet domains. According to MSNBC, the domain CREDITCARDS.COM was acquired for $2.75 million all-cash and SEC filings reveal that the $20 billion hedge fund, American Capital Strategies, and Austin Ventures invested $135 million in CREDITCARDS.COM. Regarding the CREDITCARDS.COM sale, MSNBC quoted ClickSuccess CEO Dan Smith, "It's like prime real estate, there's only so much of this real estate to go around. I feel like we bought a slice of Park Avenue."

About Clek Media:

Clek Media Inc. ("Clek") is a digital media consulting firm dedicated to enhancing the value and financial returns of its clients. Clek specializes in helping companies develop intellectual property in the digital space. Clek consultants work with top management to find new and better ways to make money in this rapidly growing area.

"Clek" is a trademark of Clek Media Inc.

Addendum

Below are the reported top 20 domain names sales before the sale of FUND.COM, or top bids that did not meet the minimum required reserve price, according to DN Journal:

(Note to editors: Some reports list the sale of SEX.COM in 1999 for $12 million as the highest-priced domain sale; however, that sale did not close. The original registrant sold the domain to another buyer, Escom, LLC, in 2006, but the price for this second contract was never reported.)


Porn.com 9,500,000 2007
Business.com 7,500,000 1999
Diamond.com 7,500,000 2006
Beer.com 7,000,000 2007
Asseenontv.com 5,100,000 2000
Seo.com 5,000,000 2007
Auction.com 4,500,000 Reserve 2007
Dermatology.com 4,500,000 Reserve 2007
HorseRacing.com 4,500,000 Reserve 2007
Slots.com 4,500,000 Reserve 2007
PuertoRico.com 3,500,000 Reserve 2007
Shop.com 3,500,000
Altavista.com 3,300,000 2002
Creditcheck.com 3,000,000 2007
Scotland.com 3,000,000 Reserve 2007
Student.com 3,000,000 Reserve 2007
Vodka.com 3,000,000 2006
Wine.com 2,900,000 1999
CreditCards.com 2,750,000 2004
PressReleases.com 2,500,000 Reserve 2007


Contact:
Vicki Smith
Clek Media Inc.
(214) 717-5314

[touchring]

Wow, how about ファンド.com?

[markits]

Sex.com in 2006 was at $15 million, right?

Business.com was at $450 million in 2006, right?

[touchring]

The japanese fund has a bigger OVT. This domain is sold as a brandable. But hack, what's $10m to international fund managers? They spend more toys, perks and frills every year!

[IDNer]

It's shown on DN Journal now -


http://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm

[quote]
The DN Journal Top 20 Reported Domain Sales - Mon. March 3, 2008 - Sun. March 9, 2008
Euro to Dollar Conversion (€ to $) is Based on Rates in Effect Tue. March 11

Domain Sold For Where Sold
1. Fund.com $9,995,000 Pvt Sale
2. Thin.com $200,000 RickLatona.com
3. Shoppers.com $166,000 Pool
4. Eggs.com $112,500 Sedo
5. eRomance.com $100,000 Moniker/iDate
6. Alimony.com $75,000 SnapNames
7. SaintAugustine.com $60,000 RickLatona.com
8. Fern.com $50,000 Pvt Sale
9. Porn.fr €30,000 = $46,000 Sedo
10. eStudents.com $33,500 Sedo
11. Searcher.com $32,000 Sedo
12. Fussball.tv €18,500 = $28,367 Sedo
13. Kilu.de €14,000 = $21,468 Sedo
14. FreeSingles.com $21,000 Moniker/iDate
15. BlogSurf.com £10,000 = $20,069 Sedo
16. FreeDatingService.com $20,000 Moniker/iDate
17. DDP.com $19,500 Sedo
18. T20.com $18,000 AfternicDLS
19. Baltimore.net $17,500 RickLatona.com
20. Seng.com $16,500 Sedo
20. Invents.com $16,500 Sedo
[/quote]

[clipper]

Originally Posted by markits

Sex.com in 2006 was at $15 million, right?

Business.com was at $450 million in 2006, right?

Business.com wasn't really a domain sale. I see this all too often. Business.com the name was bought for $6-7m in about 1999 (I think) and those guys built a legitimate business on that domain.

It wasn't parked.

They spent years building up not only a directory, but a PPC model that partnered with major online content providers (Forbes.com, wsj.com, etc...).

To say that the domain name business.com sold for $450 million is like saying "New York Times" is only a name, with no revenue, no advertising, no content... nothing!
The buyer has made few changes, except accepting the resignation of the founder.

Incidentally, the buyer's stock price has plummeted by over 90% since the sale. RHD, a leading "yellow pages" directory publisher in the US. Take a look at that stock. Market cap $353m... Less than they paid for business.com.

EDIT: it is not my desire to dislocate the high price of business.com from the value of domain names for the purpose of de-valuing domains. Rather, it is to separate this particular sale from discussions of domains because it was the sale of a business, not a name. As a purchase, it was a bad one, as evidenced by the purchasing entity's current market value and their use (possibly misuse) of the business entity purchased. Had RHD waited a year they could've used the cash to buy themselves back from shareholders and become a private entity (and a highly profitable one at that). As a former RHD employee and a current client of business.com, I see the purchase as highly detrimental to both entities, as the shareholders of RHD do not adequately value the asset they purchased (business.com). As a result, the company will de-value their asset and likely drive it into the ground. Beware of what RHD will sell business.com for.

[markits]

I knew it was the domain plus the website. However, the website associated with it is really an ordinary one. In fact if such website is associated with another non-generic domain (hanoo.com yahoo.com etc), lucky they will get even 1% of the sale value. I believe it was the domain business.com that made the package so valuable.

[touchring]

Originally Posted by clipper

Business.com wasn't really a domain sale. I see this all too often. Business.com the name was bought for $6-7m in about 1999 (I think) and those guys built a legitimate business on that domain.

It wasn't parked.

Not parked, basically MFA.

RHD is another victim of Google's algorithm changes. Google has been cracking down on MFA sites the past year or so. Many hundred million dollar setups have been blown, the worst case being Geosign, a total writeoff.

They should have consulted with SEO experts before committing to the deal.

[jacksonm]

Originally Posted by markits

I knew it was the domain plus the website.

It wasn't the domain plus the website. It was the domain plus the business - all of the business relationships, contacts, contracts, knowledge, operations, etc. The domain without the associated business would not have sold for this sum. The website itself is/was inconsequential.

.