news IS.com domain changed hands for $1,950,000 in February 2021

[amplify]

George Kirikos does a deep-dive into ironSource Ltd.'s (NYSE:IS) F-1 filings with the SEC. In the filings, it states that $1,950 thousand ($1,950,000) was used for the purchase of intangible assets.

Intangible assets could be an array of different things from a domain name to other intellectual property. In the case of ironSource, they specifically state that amount was paid out for a "Domain".

ironSource secured the IS.com domain which changed hands in February 2021. Before that, the domain name looks like it was used by InsideSales as reported by Robbie's Blog in 2019.

George concluded that the domain changed hands for $1,950,000. While this may be true, I am more inclined to believe that this number includes all the fees associated with the domain transfer as well.

While we're speaking of potentially negligible amounts here as it's in the "two commas club", it's important to note that sales, other than taxes, can cost the buyer or seller more money than what leaves their hands or lines their pockets. Surely with a sale of this magnitude, there were legal fees on top of escrow fees and who knows what else—such as administrative translation fees, etc.—bundled up to come to such an odd figure, fifty-thousand away from an even $2 million.

 

[robmonster]

If this deal did happen at under $2 million, the buyer did great. The resale value on a 2-letter name that is an acronym for many things, including Information Systems, is worth materially above what they paid.

I would imagine that the seller was not getting brokerage advice and completed this as a private sale, which would explain why this happened quietly and (arguably) below market.

The seller was InsideSales.com, now know as Xant.ai, which is apparently shrinking:

Amazon Alexa

www.alexa.com

As such, it may have been a distress sale.

That's one notable thing about these short names held by corporates -- their tides tend to ebb and flow. Sometimes that creates an opportunity for cash buyers who are in contact with the decision maker.

 

[Biggie]

Hi

if you want more background:

What Happens When Your Prized Domains Are Hijacked? Q&A With Michael Bahlitzanakis

We recently caught up with one of the top domainers in the industry, Michael Bahlitzanakis. Michaelâs company, BP Holdings Group, Inc., owns many top domain names such as mall.com, prices.com, seo.com, is.com and the list goes on and on. Recently many of his top domains were hijacked and not...

www.dnforum.com

Domaining Blog: What Happens When Your Prized Domains Are Hijacked? Q&A; With Michael Bahlitzanakis

imo....

 

[accurate]

If this deal did happen at under $2 million, the buyer did great. The resale value on a 2-letter name that is an acronym for many things, including Information Systems, is worth materially above what they paid.

I would imagine that the seller was not getting brokerage advice and completed this as a private sale, which would explain why this happened quietly and (arguably) below market.

The seller was InsideSales.com, now know as Xant.ai, which is apparently shrinking:

Amazon Alexa

www.alexa.com

As such, it may have been a distress sale.

That's one notable thing about these short names held by corporates -- their tides tend to ebb and flow. Sometimes that creates an opportunity for cash buyers who are in contact with the decision maker.

I agree they undersold.

Likely don't know what a domain broker is.