Up UNR registry and employees — Tucows picks

Tucows gets into the registry business with the buyout of Frank Schilling’s technical registry and 10 employees.

Tucows (NASDAQ: TCX) disclosed today that it is acquiring Frank Schilling’s UNR technical registry business and 10 of its employees.

Earlier this year, UNR auctioned its 23 top level domain names for more than $40 million. None of the top level domains have transferred to their fresh owners yet, but UNR Chief Growth Operator Shayan Rostam told Reglike this stretch that the assignments are under ICANN review.

Some buyers in that auction will likely continue to use the UNR backend, which Tucows is acquiring. This will give Tucows a toe into becoming a vertically integrated domain name firm. Tucows owns reseller registrar platforms counting Enom and OpenSRS, as well as retail domain outlet Hover.

Tucows did not disclose the deal’s financial terms and told Reglike that it is immaterial. At a minimum, I assume it will discuss the terms in its Q3 earnings release later this year.