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April 10, 2019

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Here's the The Lowdown from DN Journal,
updated daily
to fill you in on the latest buzz going around the domain name industry. 

The Lowdown is compiled by DN Journal Editor & Publisher Ron Jackson.

20 Big City .Com GeoDomains Offered in Unprecedented Portfolio Sale: Houston.com, Philadelphia.com & SanDiego.com Among Those Included

It is rare for any major city .com geodomain to be put on the market so the sale of a portfolio full of such domains is something few would ever imagine seeing. Well, the unthinkable is now a reality as GeoCentric Media has assembled just such a dream portfolio and is now brokering it with a price tag in the $20 million range. 

That's certainly not pocket change, but when you look at the assets included many would consider it to be a bargain. especially when it includes three of America's largest cities - Houston.com, Philadelphia.com and SanDiego.com - as well as big league cities like Denver.com, Detroit.com, Indianapolis.com and Oakland.com

As a point of reference, LasVegas.com alone was sold in 2005 for an up front payment

Philadelphia skyline image from Bigstock

of $12 million with additional payments continuing until 2040 that could make the final value of the deal $90 million.  Here is the full list of domains in the new offering:

With respect to value, another interesting point of reference from the media world (this one from just two weeks ago) came from the announcement that the Nexstar Media Group was selling 19 of its local TV stations to Tegna for $1.32 billion - 66 times more than this portfolio of 20 city domain names is being shopped for. Yes, the TV stations are developed businesses but each one broadcasts to a very limited geographic area. Every developed domain has a global reach and can offer all forms of media including print, audio and video at once - making the potential of each property essentially unlimited. Developed city domains also have an excellent track record in producing revenue. This article noted that Boston.com generated over $44 million in digital ad revenue in 2012 alone.

 

Fred Mercaldo, CEO and Founder of Scottsdale-based Geocentric Media, told us, “This portfolio gives a buyer an incredible footprint of digital assets on much sought-after pure City branded domain names. These domains provide an unprecedented opportunity to acquire a portfolio of this breadth and magnitude. As the future of news, travel and tourism bookings, real estate, and content goes digital at breakneck speed, this portfolio represents a unique opportunity to acquire a significant group of domain names in one single acquisition."

Mercaldo added, “The high value of local and hyper-local news and content that each City .com can generate has been long described as ‘oceanfront real estate’ because these pure City brands in each marketplace can be positioned to serve large audiences for future generations to come. The credibility, natural type-in traffic and the allure of residents to ‘support and buy local’, combined

Fred Mercaldo
CEO & Founder
Geocentric MEdia

with the travel and tourism potential as well as the potential for Real Estate transactions makes this portfolio a very attractive acquisition target for a savvy buyer. As the inevitable transition to digital news and media is happening, whoever has the best brand names will prove to be the big winners." 

The cities in this portfolio represent the following cumulative demographics, population, tourism dollars, real estate market size, and immediate, organic reach: 

  • Population:  81,000,000

  • Annual Tourists:  300,000,000

  • Annual Tourism Financial Impact:  $90,000,000,000

  • Residential Real Estate Sales:  $2,000,000,000,000+  (Trillion)

Mercaldo, a widely-known domain investor/developer who also founded Scottsdale.com, cited two other successful domain industry veterans, Peter Niederman of Denver.com (and former owner of Kentwood Real Estate in Denver) and Ammar Kubba, (Thought Convergence, afterTHOUGHT and DomainTools.com) for their advice and support in putting this portfolio together and bringing it to market. 

Peter Niederman

Ammar Kubba

Niederman noted, “These City brands in the right hands are invaluable, and this portfolio is really priceless.  I experienced first hand what Denver.com could produce.  Fred has assembled this portfolio at the right time, place, and price point.” 

Kubba added, "This portfolio that Fred has assembled is unprecedented in terms of the reach and influence afforded by these domain assets. For the right buyer with vision and ambition, this acquisition will be a game changer, forming a compelling foundation for a future media powerhouse. The value of domains has proven undeniable, and the power of this collection is irrefutable"

Interested parties can learn more about this opportunity by contacting Mercaldo directly at: [email protected]

(Posted April 5, 2019)  

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