Verisign Confirms Funding Role Behind Nu Dot Co's Winning .web Bid
Domain name registry Verisign said it funded Nu Dot Co's $135 million winning bid last week for the registry rights to the .web generic top-level domain (gTLD). That confirmed industry chatter that the longtime .com registry had been orchestrating Nu…
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Dot Co's controversial involvement in ICANN's public .web auction (see 1607290058). Verisign said it “entered into an agreement” with Nu Dot Co in which Verisign “provided funds for Nu Dot Co’s bid for the .web TLD. We are pleased that the Nu Dot Co bid was successful.” Nu Dot Co will execute the .web registry agreement with ICANN before turning over the registry rights to Verisign “upon consent from ICANN,” Verisign said in a Monday news release: Verisign “is well-positioned to widely distribute .web. Our expertise, infrastructure, and partner relationships will enable us to quickly grow .web and establish it as an additional option for registrants worldwide in the growing TLD marketplace.” Rival .web bidder Donuts made Nu Dot Co's funding source an issue in the days before the .web auction, filing a lawsuit against ICANN in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on claims ICANN was negligent and in breach of contract for not thoroughly investigating the identities of then-speculated new parties in the control of Nu Dot Co. Judge Percy Anderson denied Donuts' application for a temporary restraining order to halt the .web auction amid the registry's suit and required Donuts to file an amended version of its complaint by Aug. 8 (see 1607250051 and 1607270027).