OnlineDomain.com Domain Name News & Opinions
The Board of Directors of Top Level Domain Holdings (AIM:TLDH) are pleased to announce that it has signed a term sheet with Uniregistry to operate the .country top-level domain for which both companies had applied. Under the contemplated arrangement, both parties would enjoy a 50% equity stake in a new company, to which the .country contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) would be transferred.
Antony Van Couvering, CEO of TLDH, commented:
We’re very pleased with this arrangement. Working with Uniregistry for .country is pro-competitive and will result in lower prices for consumers and better exposure for .country. Our two organizations have similar visions for .country and we look forward to working with Uniregistry.
Frank Schilling, Founder and Managing Director of Uniregistry, said:
This joint venture is good for us, good for TLDH, good for ICANN, and just terrific for registrants in .country. We look forward to working with TLDH to make .country a vibrant success.
Both Uniregistry and TLDH applied to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) to operate the .country generic top-level domain (“gTLD”); there are no other contenders. Under ICANN rules only one party can operate any given gTLD, and ICANN has encouraged applicants to resolve these conflicts privately. Under the conditional heads of terms for the proposed joint venture, either Uniregistry or TLDH will withdraw its application and, once the surviving applications is approved by ICANN, the authority to operate .country will be transferred to the new joint venture. The transfer will require ICANN approval, which the directors of the Company fully expect to be forthcoming.
