CentralNic plans IPO

Domain name registry plans to file for initial public offering.

Domain name registry and backend services provider CentralNic is planning to officially announce an initial public offering tomorrow, The Telegraph notes.

The firm, which today is known mostly for selling third level domain names under domains such as .us.com and .uk.com, hopes to raise £5 million through the offering. It will use the funds for its top level domain name investments.

It will list on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM, which a marketplace for modest firms. It’s the same exchange that Top Level Domain Holdings (TLDH) trades on.

CentralNic is eying a market cap of around £30 million, which is just shy of TLDH’s current £36.50 market cap.

Although its investor pitch will no doubt focus a lot of top level domain names, its two letter .com domain names are an extremely valuable asset.

Look for more details tomorrow as they become available.