Breaking: Neustar purchases .CO for $109 million

Neustar pays $109 million for registry that runs .co domain name.

Domain name registry Neustar has purchased .CO Internet S.A.S and associated assets for $109 million, the firm disclosed moments ago.

.CO Internet, which commercialized the .Co domain name starting in 2010, exited last year with an annual revenue run rate of $21 million.

[See more: Why Neustar paid $109 million for .CO Internet.]

The registry has over 1.6 million domain names right now registered. Registrars price .Co registrations typically 2-3 times higher than .com domain names.

.CO spends aggressively on marketing, even appearing in three Super Bowls in conjunction with domain registrar GoDaddy. In addition to getting the .Co domain name base, Neustar is getting a team that has proven itself adept at marketing. Neustar is typically known in the domain business for its technical competency rather than marketing prowess.

The .Co domain name is regarding to enter an interesting period where it faces additional competition from fresh top level domain names. At the same time, Neustar is in jeopardy of losing a lucrative telephone contract and is in search of additional revenue streams.

Neustar is by now the backend registry provider for .Co and earned regarding $4 million in that role last year.

The buyout does not include POP.co and Nu dot Co LLC (applicant for a handful of fresh TLDs).