KIRKLAND, Wash., July 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rightside Group, Ltd. (Nasdaq:NAME), a leading provider of domain name services that advance the way businesses and consumers define and present themselves online, today announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”), after careful consideration and in consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, has rejected the unsolicited proposal from Donuts Inc. to acquire Rightside’s entire registry of generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and related assets for $70 million in an all-cash deal.
“Rightside’s Registry business is core to the Company’s strategy and provides the best opportunity to deliver long-term shareholder value. After thoughtful evaluation, Rightside’s Board has determined that Donuts’ proposal significantly undervalues Rightside’s Registry assets,” said Taryn Naidu, CEO of Rightside. “We believe Donuts’ proposal is an opportunistic attempt to acquire Rightside’s valuable portfolio of domain extensions with an undervalued price and in a manner that would not be in the best interests of Rightside shareholders.”
Naidu added, “The Board and management are aligned on a clear strategy - building Rightside’s position as a leading domain name company that specializes in delivering new possibilities for consumers and businesses to define and present themselves online. We operate broad distribution assets and have acquired an outstanding portfolio of 40 new gTLDs that map to extremely large addressable markets and the culturally transformative activities that have shaped the world’s use of the Internet. We are well-positioned for growth.”
Rightside’s Registry business that Donuts has proposed to acquire is the cornerstone of the company’s long-term target model. As discussed on the Q1 2016 earnings call, Rightside is targeting annual Registry revenue over the next 3-5 years between $50 million - $75 million.
Rightside’s shareholders have supported and invested in Rightside and its consistent strategy to develop the market for its new gTLDs, and they recognize that the Registry business is key to the Company’s growth prospects.
Naidu concluded, “Rightside and its shareholders have many reasons to be excited about the Company’s future opportunities. We remain confident that we have the right people, technology and products to continue to execute on our strategy and maximize shareholder value.”
About Rightside
Rightside® inspires and delivers new possibilities for consumers and businesses to define and present themselves online. The company, with its affiliates, is a leading provider of domain name services, offering one of the industry’s most comprehensive platforms for the discovery, registration, usage, and monetization of domain names. In addition to being a new gTLD registry operator, Rightside is home to some of the most admired brands in the industry, including Enom and Name.com. Headquartered in Kirkland, WA, Rightside has offices in North America, Europe, and Australia. For more information please visit www.rightside.co.
Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, among others, Rightside’s long range targets for the Registry business, and registry services revenue. Statements containing words such as may, believe, anticipate, expect, intend, plan, project, and estimate or similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Statements regarding Rightside’s future performance are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, financial condition, operating performance and results of operations, including certain assumptions related thereto. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, among others: Rightside’s ability to successfully operate new gTLD registries and provide back-end infrastructure services to new and existing registries; Rightside’s ability to successfully market and sell its gTLDs; and the difficulty in predicting and developing consumer demand for new gTLDs. More information about potential risk factors that could affect Rightside’s operating and financial results are contained in Rightside’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10, 2016. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Rightside does not intend to revise or update the information set forth in this press release, except as required by law, and may not provide this type of information in the future.