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AUSTIN, Texas - Los Angeles-based Internet domain name marketing company Oversee.net announced today  that it has acquired Pompano Beach, Florida-based "Domain Asset Management" firm Moniker.com from online marketing company Seevast Corp. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Moniker's president Monte Cahn, who has been called the "Six Million Dollar Man" for brokering several of the biggest cash transactions in the history of Internet domain name sales, will continue to head the company as part of a multi-year agreement with Oversee, where he will also serve an executive management role. Varied Domain Name Services to Combine Under the deal Oversee, an Inc. 500 company that also owns expired domain auction firm SnapNames.com, will continue to see Moniker managing its popular domain name auctions, with the addition of SnapNames Live technology, according to a statement on Moniker's Web site. Moniker, which is one of the most rapidly growing ICANN-accredited domain name registrars and deals with the top level domains (TLDs) .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz as well as various country code TLDs such as .us and .cn, will continue to operate from its headquarters on Florida's "Internet Coast", according to today's joint press release. Among the products and services offered by Moniker are the following:  | Domain name registration | | | Domain asset management and monetization | | | Domain name creation and acquisition | | | Domain portfolio management | | | Domain registrar theft protection | | | Appraisal and escrow | | | Web traffic monetization | | | Live, online and silent domain name auctions | | | Corporate domain management services | | | Web site hosting | | | Landing pages for domain parking | Live Auction Specialty Live and online domain name auctions have been a success for Moniker, which will now combine  with Oversee to "cement its leadership position in the domain name secondary market," the companies said, while announcing a demonstration of the new combined auction powerhouse later this month at the DOMAINfest Global conference. "Oversee will leverage the two divisions’ capabilities by adding Moniker’s live auction and back-office services to SnapNames Live™ to offer the industry’s most comprehensive live and silent auction services," the companies said. Moniker at PubCon At the 2007 WebmasterWorld PubCon conference held in Las Vegas in December, an event for webmasters and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professionals put on by WebmasterWorld.com's CEO and founder Brett Tabke, Moniker held a combined live and online domain name auction which saw over $325,000 in sales, including such domains names as Grandpa.com which sold for $55,000 and FamilyServices.com which was sold for $45,000. Moniker's domain auction at PubCon was broadcast live on Internet radio station WebmasterRadio.fm. In June 2007 Cahn spoke with Tabke. "We always felt that domain names were assets, and that's how we got started in the business. I got started in 1995, investing in the domain aftermarket, and back then there was no traffic monetization," said Cahn. Oversee.net Acquires Moniker.com from Seevast Corp Cahn sees today's deal with Oversee as an important step in expanding Moniker. "Oversee’s advanced technology platform and strong financial resources give us the capability to focus on further expanding our market opportunity," said Cahn. "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," he added. By working together the companies hope to integrate services and plan to expanded on the following: | | Having Web traffic and monetization track records for domains at auction | | | Adding Moniker's registrar services for SnapNames and DomainSponsor customers | | | Updating Domain Asset Management tools | | | Using SnapNames Live technology in Moniker-managed auctions | Reaction from Oversee Oversee, which employs more than 200 in its offices in Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon and San Mateo, California, was founded in 2000 and has two main divisions dealing with marketing and domain services. Other brands owned by Oversee include SnapNames, which it purchased in June 2007, DomainSponsor, and Low.com. SnapNames, also founded in 2000, sells domain names that are expired or up for deletion. Oversee CEO and co-founder Lawrence Ng expressed his company's excitement with the acquisition of Moniker. "We are delighted that Monte Cahn and his team of experienced professionals are becoming part of the Oversee family," said Ng. "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," added Ng. Oversee, named "Internet and New Media Company of the Year" by the Technology Council of Southern California in March 2007, has also seen CEO Ng named winner of the 2007 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Greater Los Angeles program. Seevast Sells Moniker In selling Moniker, New York City-based Seevast says it will be able to focus attention on development of its  advertising network businesses Pulse 360 and Kanoodle. Seevast, which acquired Moniker in 2005, said that while the Domain Asset Management pioneer has "grown significantly" while with Seevast, it has now "committed to focusing in other areas," according to Seevast CEO Lance Podell. "We wish Monte and his team continued success. We believe there are great synergies between Oversee and Moniker that can accelerate the growth of the business," said Podell. $2 Billion Domain Name Industry Cahn has noted that while the domain name industry is relatively young, projections show it to be worth as much as $2 billion. Cahn began buying and selling domain names in 1996, influenced by the son of a customer at the cardiology equipment marketing company he was operating at the time. Together they joined to form a sideline business called NameShop.com, the first domain brokerage on the Web. With the goal of handling "the most valuable domains on the market", Cahn started the company HitDomains, and in 2000 it merged with SolutionHome.com, and became DomainSystems.com, along with co-founder Eric Harrington, who is now the president of the companies. By joining Oversee today, Cahn may see continued success for Moniker. Related Links:
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10:41 pm on Jan. 3, 2008 (utc 0)