Demand Media purchases Name.com as registrar consolidation continues

Name.com the latest domain name registrar to be snapped up.

Domain name registrar consolidations continues as Demand Media, parent firm of eNom, has purchased Name.com.

The Denver based domain name registrar is known for its good social media presence and humorous videos featuring its employees. It frequently positions itself as an alternative to Go Daddy whenever Go Daddy runs into technical problems or controversy.

Name.com has also had its fair share of controversy and DDoS attacks, which have brought some of its services down on more than one occasion.

Verisign registry notes show that Name.com had over 775,000 .com domain names registered as of the end of August 2012, the most recent month in which notes are available. eNom has 13.5 million across all top level domains.

Demand Media cites two key reasons for the buyout.

First, it will give it added distribution for fresh top level domains.

Second, it will give Demand Media a “retail” domain registration presence. Its eNom platform is a reseller registrar.

No purchase price was disclosed and the firm hasn’t filed any SEC documents that include financials for the deal.

I believe Name.com was still closely held, in which case I hope this deal was done by December 31 to save the owner(s) on taxes. I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of other closely held U.S. domain registrars inked deals ahead of midnight on Fresh Years Eve.