Unknown firm pays £135m for .web domain

VeriSign could be business behind blockbuster buy

An unknown company called Nu Dot Co has paid a staggering $135m for the right to the .web generic top-level domain (gTLD). The firm beat off competition from the likes of Google and web registry firms Afilias, Radix and Donuts.

The auction went ahead despite calls from others involved that the mystery surrounding Nu Dot Co meant that ICANN, the organisation selling the gTLD, could not satisfy the condition that it must know who, or what, controls the gTLD after auction.

However, ICANN hurriedly dismissed the claim and proceeded with the auction.

Akram Atallah, president of ICANN's Global Domains Division, explained that the auction process was the fairest way to allocate the domain.

"New gTLD Program auctions are the community-established, last resort method to help determine which applicant will have the opportunity to operate a particular new gTLD when multiple entities vie for the same or confusingly similar domains," he said.

"We look forward to seeing the community's recommendations for the use of these proceeds."

There is a rumour that Nu Dot Co is a front for VeriSign after a Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed that VeriSign will have to pay $130m in its coming financial quarter, without specifying what it is for.

"Subsequent to June 30, 2016, the company incurred a commitment to pay approximately $130m for the future assignment of contractual rights, which are subject to third-party consent. The payment is expected to occur during the third quarter of 2016," said the filing.

The huge $135m fee for the domain is far in excess of previous prices at auctions. The .shop domain fetched $41.5m in January 2016, while .app was sold for $25m in February 2015 to Google.

While Nu Dot Co paid $135m for the .web domain, Vistaprint paid just $1 for the right to .webs after none of the other firms involved put in a bid.