GoDaddy acquires competing domain registrar and marketplace Uniregistry and its 350,000 domains

Back in January, we wrote about GoDaddy when the world’s most popular domain registrar acquired South Africa-based social content startup Over to expand beyond domain names and websites. Now the biggest news in the industry in years. Today, GoDaddy announced it is acquiring Uniregistry’s domain registrar.

In addition to the registrar and technology, GoDaddy is also acquiring the Name Administration portfolio of more than 350,000 domains. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close sometime in Q2 2020. The Uniregistry domain registry backend and New gTLDs are not part of the transaction.

This is a start of consolidation of the domain industry. Uniregistry started in 2014 by catering to domain name investors with specialized tools to register, manage and sell domains. They later expanded its service to other audiences while still focusing on domain name investors.

“One of the mantra’s we repeat around the Uniregistry office is that we dream about building a company of permanence and value. When I started speaking with GoDaddy, it became clear how passionate we both are about our customers and this industry. I realized the best way to fulfill our mantras and dreams was to join with Godaddy,” said Uni Founder and CEO, Frank Schilling. “I’m so proud of the team we’ve put together. It is incredibly rewarding to give them the opportunity to scale our solutions with GoDaddy’s customers. The years ahead will truly be awesome!”

The Uniregistry registrar will continue to operate at www.uniregistry.com. In addition to the registrar and marketplace, GoDaddy is also acquiring Uniregistry’s domain portfolio of more than 350,000 names.

“Frank is one of the smartest and savviest investors, and his portfolio shows that knowledge and acumen. We can’t wait to bring these to market for our customers with competitive prices,” Nicks continued. To better support enterprise-level customers, GoDaddy is acquiring Brandsight in the transaction.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.