Hostway to Acquire .PRO Registry
Chicago, IL—February 12, 2004—Hostway Corporation, a global leader in Web hosting and managed services, today announced, its wholly owned subsidiary, Registry Services Corporation, will become the registry operator for the .pro top-level Internet domain for professionals, after it acquires the core assets of RegistryPro, a subsidiary of Register.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCOM).
Register.com, in its quarterly earnings release today, disclosed the pending transaction with Hostway, which is subject to approval by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN approval of the transaction is anticipated in the near term.
Registry Services Corporation intends to launch the .pro registry in the second quarter of 2004.
"The .pro domain has terrific potential to serve a vital group of Internet users," said Lucas Roh, President and CEO of Hostway. "We believe lawyers, accountants, doctors and service professionals will be eager to use the .pro domain as a way of identifying and differentiating their professional status. As the Internet evolves, .pro will become a catalyst for simplified communication and help with the creation of valuable social interaction. We’re committed to launching the.pro registry and excited to help advance the evolution of the Internet."
The financial terms of the acquisition were undisclosed.
"The.pro registry is an exciting opportunity but is not core to our businesses," said Peter Forman, president & CEO of Register.com. "This sale allows us to focus on our registrar business, while retaining the ability to benefit from .pro’s success in the future. We are eager to offer .pro names to our customers as a registrar and I look forward to Hostway maximizing.pro’s potential."
Registry Services Corporation will honor all existing.pro sunrise registrations. The.pro extension is available exclusively for professionals and has three basic components: a domain name, cross-verification of professional and identity information, and a digital certificate— a building block of secure communications and transactions.
About Hostway Corporation
Hostway Corporation provides domain name registration, Web hosting and ecommerce, colocation, managed dedicated hosting, SaaS hosting, Web design and online marketing services to more than 600,000 customers worldwide. It operates state-of-the art data centers that reduce the complexity and cost of Web-based technologies for small businesses and large enterprises. Founded in 1998, Hostway is one of the three largest Web hosting companies in the world with a direct presence in 11 countries, 15 worldwide operation centers and more than 700 employees. Hostway franchises include: Affinity Internet, Bigstep, DiscountDomains, Hostway UK, Hostway Netherlands, Hostway Korea, Hostway Australia, Hostway Denmark, NetNation, PowerMedium, RegistryPro, Server Service, Service Over Internet, ValueWeb and WinSave.
