Godaddy Is Up For Auction!

[The Simpleton 2]

Okay, I'm not sure whether this is still a rumour or not (because GoDaddy hasn't commented yet), but I found this news on the Wall Street Journal, so it could be true (or not...)
 

GoDaddy.com, the closely held website that registers Internet domain names, has put itself up for sale in an auction that could fetch more than $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Qatalyst Partners, the boutique firm run by veteran technology banker Frank Quattrone, has been hired to shop the Go Daddy Group Inc., which runs the world's largest domain name registrar, these people said. Private-equity firms are expected to bid for the company, which currently has more than 43 million domains under management.

GoDaddy.com and Qatalyst representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
 

 

It is a really surprising news because GoDaddy has been one of the oldest registrars around and they recently jumped out of their losses and reported a profit last year. Well it still remains to be seen what becomes of this auction and who'll be the new owner. I hope its not Google; they have too much already!

[Okara KAmi 0]

Well that's surprising. You'd think after all of those socially uncomfortable ads they had through out the superbowl and all on TV, they'd be making more profit x) But I guess we can blame the market for this like we do for just about everything else that crashes and burns now a days. I didn't, of course, know this was up for a billion dollars. That's pretty intense... But if the tabloid-esque excerpt is true, then it's millions of hosted names could face some shifty ground due to new management.

[anwiii 17]

if it's in the wall street journal, it is probably true haha. don't tell me you never heard of the wall street journal? VERY reputable.okara- ummmm buddy, the wsj is not a tabloid. or even close to being one.

[Adell 0]

Wall Street Journal is a very reliable source; it's like the magazine for people who want to become rich or something, haha. So, I'm in Asia, I've heard of godaddy.com once or twice but I don't know what it actually is. So mind telling me what godaddy.com is all about? That would be very helpful.

[mahesh2k 0]

Wall Street Journal is a very reliable source; it's like the magazine for people who want to become rich or something, haha. So, I'm in Asia, I've heard of godaddy.com once or twice but I don't know what it actually is. So mind telling me what godaddy.com is all about? That would be very helpful.

Godaddy is one of the popular and leading source for domain registration.
I don't find it amusing because recently even sun was for sale. That doesn't turned down the business of the company. It's just that it is in need for more funds and is waiting for some higher companies to acquire it. But i'm sure many people will take it as shutdown or scam. With java, sun was/is going down everyday even though it is acquired by oracle. I don't find it such old registrar dropping service or closure. Many sub-registrars are dependent on godaddy. Last month there was promo code release from godaddy so i doubt about it's fallout. But acquisition deal- possibility is there.

[The Simpleton 2]

then it's millions of hosted names could face some shifty ground due to new management.

I've already seen on some forums that people are getting anxious about their domains and hosting accounts on godaddy and are planning to move them as soon as possible. GoDaddy isn't going to entirely disappear when it's bought, but it's natural that domain owners are getting anxious about the fate of their services.

[Harlot 2]

I don't believe that it will be sold, and the question that most people must ask is why is it being sold? People don't usually just wake up and sale companies for no reason at all. They must be having quite a hard time over at GoDaddy. Nevertheless, if they are selling and GoDaddy will be sold off to someone else, I wouldn't be surprised if Google takes it over. Google has been expanding into every area of the internet experience, which includes search engines, advertisement, social networks, gaming, and etc. If I had a domain at GoDaddy, I would seriously consider having it transferred. I am sure that the domains will be safe, even if GoDaddy shuts down tomorrow, but its always good to be on the safe side.

[mahesh2k 0]

I've already seen on some forums that people are getting anxious about their domains and hosting accounts on godaddy and are planning to move them as soon as possible. GoDaddy isn't going to entirely disappear when it's bought, but it's natural that domain owners are getting anxious about the fate of their services.

Move where ? Namecheap ? or any other site ? Only site that was competing with godaddy was namecheap because Network solution and some other registrars are having lots of glitches. Take case of Xisto - Web Hosting, they increased the price of domain to 14$ because of the issues with certificate registrar. So i think that is wrong move to change registrar. Godaddy is grand registrar with many options and services. Only thing is that they are moving to other management and because of which many people may get upset. This happens with every company takeover and should not be misunderstood with company fall out.

[Kaf 0]

Personally, i think GoDaddy was/is one of the worst domain registrars. There's a website about why that had "Horror Stories" And employee statements describing their practices, and they basically tell their workers to lie.They will also automatically renew your domains, and have horrid restrictions that make you have to wait weeks to transfer a domain, by which time they may have automatically renewed it.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Kaf (see edit history)

[sheepdog 10]

Personally, i think GoDaddy was/is one of the worst domain registrars.

That's funny, because before I found Knowledgsutra all my friends were recomending GoDaddy web hosting and domain name registration. I have mine with Network Solutions and so the possible buy out of GoDaddy won't affect me, but if I had my domain name registered with them I'd sure be worried about it. Newly bought out companies seem to always get new owners that the first thing they want to do is jack up the prices, I guess to hurry up and get that investment paying off as quickly as possible.

[inea 0]

The news and information in this topic are surprising. It is surprising, because I didn't know Godaddy was loosing money till recently. And I wondered why so many people use Godaddy. But since I heart about the actions they hold like the coupon code of FALL99 which means a discount of about 95% off of the price of a .com domain name it is more clear how they attract the customers. With the price mentioned to buy the website Godaddy it is clear that there aren't many companies that can pay such an amount of money. And it is possible, that a buyer needs a big loan from the banks to be able to pay such a price. Some companies pay only a small amount of money of the price themselves. The rest of the buying price is borrowed from the banks by the company, that was bought. This means the new bought company gets filled with loans and debts from the banks. The new bought company needs to make profits to pay the interest and to pay back the debts.

Edited September 20, 2010 by inea (see edit history)

[The Simpleton 2]

Move where ? Namecheap ? or any other site ? Only site that was competing with godaddy was namecheap because Network solution and some other registrars are having lots of glitches. Take case of Xisto - Web Hosting, they increased the price of domain to 14$ because of the issues with certificate registrar. So i think that is wrong move to change registrar. Godaddy is grand registrar with many options and services. Only thing is that they are moving to other management and because of which many people may get upset. This happens with every company takeover and should not be misunderstood with company fall out.

Well they're still in the "planning" stage; they're not sure where to go to This is truly a testing time for domain registrars, with business and prices going up at the same time. This auction, if it exists, will most probably take place away from the public glare, and some protective measures will surely be taken in the interest of the existing customers. I'm sure GoDaddy won't fall to the Earth in a single day!

[mahesh2k 0]

Personally, i think GoDaddy was/is one of the worst domain registrars. There's a website about why that had "Horror Stories" And employee statements describing their practices, and they basically tell their workers to lie.

There are horror and scam stories of dreamhost, hostgator and many other companies. Even paypal has it's horror or scam stories. I know to some extent it is likely to be true but after that you need to be see things case by case basis. Godaddy sucks at hosting if we compare to top hosts and servers. Those who have their own datacenters are always better than those who are using servers on others facilities.

They will also automatically renew your domains, and have horrid restrictions that make you have to wait weeks to transfer a domain, by which time they may have automatically renewed it.

Even Xisto/CH/ renews your domain if you set it to auto-renew mode. Just disable that option. It is available with almost every domain and hosting company. There is nothing wrong with domain registrar if they allow you to enable or disable the domain renewal. Your point stays valid if there is no such feature at all.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

I would really like to see how much they get bought for, assuming it actually happens. BK was sold for like 1.6 billion and I find those numbers to be beyond ridiculous. It's amazing to me how one company (even with thousands of others just like it) makes money while the others suffer, lol.

[inea 0]

what is BK? Burger King? who makes money and who suffers? is this an internet related remark or is this about fast food restaurants?

Edited September 22, 2010 by inea (see edit history)