Demand Media releases more details regarding its gTLD plans and deal with Donuts

Demand Media applies for 26 TLDs outright and has rights to up to 107 applied for by partner Donuts, Inc.

Demand Media disclosed today that it has applied for 26 top level domains on its own, and also can obtain rights to 107 gTLDs being applied for by Donuts, Inc.

In May it disclosed that it had invested $18 million in fresh top level domains, which led many to suspect that the firm had applied for close to 100 fresh top level domains. (At $185,000 a piece for the application, it would come out to regarding 97 applications.)

But then Donuts, Inc. disclosed it had applied for 307 top level domains and had selected Demand Media as its back end registry partner.

Donuts, Inc. confirmed to me then that Demand Media was not an investor, but clearly the relationship is tight.

The news out today sheds a bit more light on the deal:

…Demand Media has entered into a strategic arrangement with Donuts Inc., an Internet domain name registry founded by industry veterans, through which it may acquire rights in certain gTLDs following they have been awarded to Donuts by ICANN. These rights are shared equally with Donuts and are associated with 107 gTLDs for which Donuts is the applicant.

Donuts CEO Paul Stahura states the deal brings Donuts past its $100 million in funding. So it would appear that a good portion of the $18 million Demand Media invested in fresh top level domains was actually payments made to Donuts for its rights on the 107 top level domains.

It’s also probable that there’s no overlap between Demand Media’s 26 applications and Donuts’ 307 applications.

Donuts has yet to file an SEC statement regarding the latest round of funding, at least under the same corporate name as its original $1 million funding.

Donuts founder Paul Stahura sold domain registrar eNom to Demand Media in 2006.