ICANN finally approves transfer of Epik registrar to fresh ownership

But who owns it?

ICANN has approved the transfer of domain name registrar Epik to fresh ownership, the registrar stated.

In a press release dated yesterday, the registrar stated:

Following a rigorous, months-long review process, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on Tuesday finalized the transfer of accreditation of the domain registrar Epik from the previous owners at Epik Inc to fresh ownership, operating under the name Epik LLC.

The registrar was sold in June last year, and ICANN stated it could take a number of months to approve the transfer. It ended up taking half a year.

In the release, Epik stated:

No previous owners, counting Epik Inc founder Rob Monster and late stage CEO Brian Royce, are involved in Epik LLC in any capacity [emphasis in original], counting ownership interest in the business.

While this may comfort some clients, we still don’t know who owns the registrar now. And it surprises me that anyone would keep their domain names there without knowing, especially following the bizarre antics of the past month.

As an accredited registrar, Epik must post the names and positions of its officers on its website. They aren’t there as of time of publication.