Valuations, Investment Support, and M&A Advisory Services

Architelos has significant experience advising new gTLD applicants, registry operators, and outside investors in a range of financial transactions including independent valuations, investment decisions, raising capital, private auction support, and the purchase/sale of TLDs. We have a unique blend of executive level domain name industry experience with Big 4 consulting expertise, which has made us the “go-to” company for venture capital and investment firms and registry operators alike.

Why Architelos?

Independence: Architelos is an independent and self-funded company. We are not a new TLD operator, applicant or investor. We stringently maintain our neutrality within the space to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.
Operational Insight: Our senior executives come from successful “C level” positions in the domain industry and have successfully launched, built, and operated generic top level domains TLDs. As with venture capital or private equity, the best investment and valuation advisors are often those who have faced the very same questions themselves.

A holistic market view: Architelos consulted on over 100 applications in the first gTLD round, and counts both legacy TLDs and ccTLDs amongst its client base. This unique mix of clients gives us a balanced view of the domain industry; a necessity for wise investment and valuation decisions.

Financial expertise: Architelos is the only firm to purpose-build financial software products for the domain name industry. The Business Case Builder, released in 2011, immediately became the primary forecasting tool in the industry and was used by nearly all the major portfolio players and large registries for the finance portion of their gTLD applications. More recently, NumberSense™ and FolioExchange™ have been adopted by some of the largest new gTLD registries and are becoming the market leader for independent deferred revenue management and billing and remittance respectively.

Services

Raising Capital

The decision to take investment is an important milestone. The timing, size, source, and terms of the investment have a significant impact on the success or failure of any business. The changing and increasingly competitive domain name market has led many new and established TLDs to consider taking on outside investors. We work closely with our clients to review this decision and if it is made in the affirmative, we provide the following:

• Review of current business plan and financials
• Valuation of the business
• Recommend optimal investment size, structure, timing and terms
• Draft Investor Memorandum

M & A - TRADE PURCHASE OR SALE OF A DOMAIN REGISTRY

The domain name market is undergoing churn as some new gTLDs are acquired or sold based on their early performance, as well as the objectives and appetites of the erstwhile investors.

Sale

We seek to understand a registry operator’s business with detailed analysis and research prior to commencement of the sales process. This enables us to present key selling points, set value parameters, and identify the key potential purchasers to ultimately achieve maximum value. We can act in relation to either a full or partial disposal and also can assist inter-shareholder sales.

Purchase

Our objective is to get the best value for our clients on both acquisition and exit. We act on behalf of business owners and professional investment firms to assist in your acquisition strategy. Our industry specific knowledge and expertise allows us to pinpoint all the value and business synergies that the purchaser hopes to generate while ensuring a competitive purchase price.

Typical scenarios are:

• Registry operators of recently launched gTLDs who wish to sell all or part of the to external parties
• Management buy-out of recently launched gTLDs
• External investors wishing to acquire domain registries

Other BUSINESS ADVISORY

Typical Client Scenarios

Investment

• gTLD applicant or registry needs to raise operating capital and requires an independent valuation of their business
• A potential investor in a new gTLD requires an independent valuation of a string (pre-launch) to underpin negotiations for an investment or buy-out
• Client is considering acquiring or investing in new or existing TLDs

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Venture capital or private equity firm is considering buying or investing in a new gTLD
• Existing registries who wish to buy existing TLDs and/or new gTLDs to consolidate on their platform