DomainTools Blog

Oversee.net announced today that they have acquired Moniker but the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, however it was believed to be around $26 Million dollar transaction. Monte Cahn has agreed to a multi-year commitment with Oversee by continuing to run Moniker.

Oversee also acquired SnapNames in May of 2007 for around $35 Million. Oversee will leverage the two divisions’ capabilities by adding Moniker’s live auction and back-office services to SnapNames Live.

The first demonstration of the integration will be at DOMAINfest Global later this month, where SnapNames Live will lead and conduct the auction, with Moniker providing valuation and escrow services. More integrated services are planned, including:

• Deepening Moniker’s continuing commitment to its auction partners through the use of the SnapNames Live technology in Moniker-managed auctions
• The addition of DomainSponsor as an available option in Moniker’s TrafficClub monetization service
• Availability of Moniker’s registrar services for SnapNames and DomainSponsor customers
• Inclusion of traffic and monetization history as data for domain name auctions
• A complete set of Domain Asset Management services that offer domain owners all the tools necessary to profitably manage their domains

Commenting on the transaction, Moniker CEO Cahn said, “Oversee’s advanced technology platform and strong financial resources give us the capability to focus on further expanding our market opportunity. This is a dynamic industry, and our collaboration with SnapNames puts Oversee well ahead of any competitor. This is a tremendous opportunity for Oversee and Moniker.”

“We are delighted that Monte Cahn and his team of experienced professionals are becoming part of the Oversee family, Our primary objective, as a company, is to continue adding and developing capabilities that offer customers a greater breadth of products and services. Moniker is widely respected by industry players and has a reputation for knowledge, security, and professionalism.” said Lawrence Ng, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Oversee.

Personally I am glad to hear that SnapNames will be including traffic and monetization history into their auction service. This is a move in the right direction and DomainTools is also seeking expand on what we already do in the Auction space by providing this data. We will work with all leading parking companies to make the history and stats available when domains are being purchased at auction. I am working on an open standard for sharing this information along with secure authorization procedures for access to that data. I believe the next evolution for our industry will be more visibility into the domain history and monetization performance.