Rattle wrote:
] Decius wrote:
] ] ] Pivotal Private Equity announced today that it has signed
] ] ] an agreement to acquire control of Network Solutions, the
] ] ] world's largest domain name registrar, for $100 million.
] ]
] ] I'm a little surprised to see corporate raiders picking it
] ] up... These people are probably confused about its value.
] BTW,
] ] the restrictions on Verisign's contract are now totally
] ] different. The whole thing will need to be reworked.
]
] .. and VeriSign can get out of its legal problem with ICANN.
] Its no longer a domain registrar. This is really dirty.

Nick, I'm not sure that it is the case. The press release states that "VeriSign will retain a minority interest in Network Solutions and retain its registry business."

Tom, I don't think Pivotal is necessarily "confused" about the value of Verisign. My take is that the press release has a Versign spin on it. If you look at other activities of Pivotal Private Equity, this is the business they're in. According to a February press release, $100M is the top of the range in which Pivotal operates.

However, Pivotal may be getting out of its element. Here's what their CEO said: "In 1991, you'd talk about real estate and people would immediately close their minds and say, 'Forget it.' Ten years later, real estate is the darling. Our view of telecom is the same." Obviously, Mr. Najafi hasn't been keeping up on his Andrew Odlyzko readings. He says, "the outlook for long-term growth, especially from Japan, China and South Korea, is particularly strong. There’s no question that the demand for corporate communications and Internet access is growing significantly in the Pacific Rim." Yet he also says, "I believe in doing our homework and doing it well, and our team is committed to thoroughly understanding the industries and markets where our company has a presence. One of our top priorities is to truly understand the people behind a corporation because that understanding serves as a foundation for developing successful business relationships."

I found this tidbit from June 2003: "The COMMAXXESS proposal may pursue under RICO actions (in conjunction with shareholders) the recovery of certain assets that were transferred to insider parties within one year prior to the January 28, 2002 filing of the petition by Global Crossing. The shareholders also intend to initiate a RICO action regarding the Pacific Crossing Ltd entity to Pivotal Private Equity now known to be affiliated with Global Crossing creditors Goldman Sachs and certain Citigroup affiliates and subsidiaries."

RE: Pivotal Private Equity to Acquire World's Largest Domain Name Registrar, Network Solutions