Michael and Roger Collins of Afternic are very pleased — for now at least.

NameMedia (a.k.a. BuyDomains), a company which owns and sells hundreds of thousands of domain names, has purchased Afternic, a site where individuals can buy and sell domain names.

Small companies with good offerings will continue to be gobbled up as those with money try to grab larger pieces of the lucrative secondary domain name market.

The press release (see below) promises no interference in the Afternic operation. I’ll venture that such promises are not included in the sale contract, and that we’ll see changes at AfterNIC (though for now there is not even a mention of the transaction on the AfterNIC site).

STILL not available to consumers (although this purchase is a move in that direction): a place where you can go to search for domain names that come from any source — whether those might be new names, expiring names, or names for sale.

The closest so far: DomainsBot, where secondary names from many sources, along with price, are included when you search for a domain.

Here’s the press release, edited by me to excise the boilerplate:

NameMedia Acquires Afternic

Acquisition Adds 1.8 Million Domain Names to Industry’s Leading Premium Resale Marketplace

WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NameMedia… today announced that is has acquired Afternic, Inc…. Afternic will join with BuyDomains, NameMedia’s existing domain name marketplace, in creating the leading platform for the domain aftermarket…. Afternic’s Domain Name Marketplace has in excess of 1.8 million premium domains available for purchase….

“The Afternic acquisition advances our leadership position in creating an efficient marketplace for small and medium businesses to acquire domain names and insure a compelling digital identity,” said Pete Lamson, the Senior Vice President for NameMedia’s marketplace business.

Roger and Michael Collins, Afternic’s executive team, will remain as leaders of the Afternic business. “We are excited by our new association with NameMedia and BuyDomains,” said Roger Collins, Afternic’s General Manager….

Lamson said that NameMedia intends to maintain both the Afternic and BuyDomains brands and trading platforms. Afternic members will continue to experience the same level of service and value to which they are accustomed.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Afternic will remain in its Florida headquarters.

(Disclosure: I work with DomainsBot.)

Tags: Afternic, NameMedia, BuyDomains, DomainsBot, domain name secondary market

Posted by Antony in: Domains