Highest Recorded Sale: Insure.com Sells for $16,000,000

[britishbulldog]

if they're retaining the business it doesnt seem that bright to give up all the natural traffic that domain must be getting. unless they needed that money real bad for something

To be honest i was sort of thinking the same,a bit dumb maybe on their behalf ?

[HomerJ]

maybe the company is/was distressed ..? who knows. I wonder if the shareholders got to vote on whether this asset would be sold ... (since it is a publicly traded co.)

[Gerry]

maybe the company is/was distressed ..? who knows. I wonder if the shareholders got to vote on whether this asset would be sold ... (since it is a publicly traded co.)

I think that link I posted will explain some of these points.

[DTalk]

Whatever about the detail around the edges of this deal, its clear, from the announcement, that the primary part of what attracted $16 million was the domain, Insure.com - not the underlying business the domain was attached to.


That's brilliant news for us.

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[HomerJ]

I think that link I posted will explain some of these points.

sorry doc, just give me the soundbites time is short!

[000]

Had this been a company sale, we would be looking at a several hundred million.

Doubtful. NSUR market cap = 19.89M (source). Public companies rarely if ever sell for 10X multiples of market cap. Bleeders with reeling strategy are more likely to liquidate at a discount. "Our insurance brokerage business has not been profitable and may not become profitable in the future. Our first complete year of focusing on our Internet based insurance service was 1997. We incurred operating losses each year subsequent to 1997 through the year ended December 31, 2008... The key elements of our strategy include: Continue to Build the Insure.com Brand. We will continue to pursue a cost-effective marketing strategy designed to promote our Insure.com brand ..." source

I wonder if the shareholders got to vote on whether this asset would be sold ... (since it is a publicly traded co.)

"Zions Bancorporation, together with two of our officers and directors, own a significant portion of our stock and control Insure.com and their interests may not be the same as our public stockholders. As of February 25, 2009, Robert Bland, our chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, directly or indirectly controlled approximately 31% of our outstanding common stock, William Thoms, our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, directly controlled approximately 8% of our outstanding common stock, and Zions Bancorporation controlled approximately 35% of our common stock. As a result, if Zions and Messrs. Bland and Thoms act together, or if Zions and Mr. Bland act together, they will be able to take any of the following actions without the approval of additional public stockholders:
•elect our directors;
•amend certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation,
•approve a merger, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction;
•defeat any takeover attempt, even if it would be beneficial to our public stockholders; and
•otherwise control the outcome of all matters submitted for a stockholder vote."
source

[Gerry]

Doubtful.

Um, if I had a company last year that made nearly 16 mil, I doubt I would sell for one year's revenue.

Would you?

Plus, they have a $49 mil write down on their books.

Irregardless what the "entire" company would sell for is purely speculative.

This sale is good all the way around for domainers but also for businesses that are centered around domain investment.

But a big thank you for taking the time to look up their annual report.

[000]

Um, if I had a company last year that made nearly 16 mil, I doubt I would sell for one year's revenue. Would you?

Yes, depending on the company. Many public companies trade for less than one year's revenue. Walmart (WMT) price/sales (ttm) = 0.48. An individual selling 100 shares is effectively selling the company for 6 months revenue.

Plus, they have a $49 mil write down on their books.

49M and growing. Good luck to them reversing that trend and generating taxable income to offset before the carryforwards expire.

Irregardless what the "entire" company would sell for is purely speculative. This sale is good all the way around for domainers but also for businesses that are centered around domain investment.

Any publicity is good publicity, but this sale is odd and unlikely to move keyword domain prices. 16M would buy all of these DNJ 2009 top names: toys, candy, fly, auction, call, webcam, server, christian and brazil, with change leftover for a heavyweight insurance name.

But a big thank you for taking the time to look up their annual report.

My pleasure.

[Gerry]

Any publicity is good publicity, but this sale is odd and unlikely to move keyword domain prices. 16M would buy all of these DNJ 2009 top names: toys, candy, fly, auction, call, webcam, server, christian and brazil, with change leftover for a heavyweight insurance name.

I like the name. But personally, I could see insurance.com commanding almost this amount and a better name - especially from the subdomain aspect

life.insurance.com
boat.insurance.com
flood.insurance.com

and on and on.

Anxious to see what becomes of insure.com.

[onlinestoreca]

Assets of a company are usually listed as tangible.

This is an intangible asset.

I recall seeing the toys.com sale and other sales being listed as company assets.

This is actually great news for the credibility of domain names and domain name ownership.

It will still be a while before the banking and loan sector recognizes this as such, but still very welcome news from a financial and investment side of things.

The down side - don't show this thread to wife or significant other. If divorce lawyers catch wind of this, you will be forced to liquidate your assets.

I had my domains listed as mine during my divorce 6 years ago. I wanted no loopholes and she didn't know what they were. - No joke!

Looks like a cash flow problem would be the reason for selling the name. I'm sure the shareholders are thinking who cares about a domain name if we keep everything else, since most people still don't get it.

I believe insurance.com is a far more intuitive and better name, so I love the fact that this went for $16 million. Websites are a dime a dozen and change constantly I don't put much value in a website, mostly the domain, of course I am biased.

[gaetanomarano]

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for those who want to beat the $16M record price I'm selling the domains DomainsPriceWorldRecord.com and its short-URL 16000001.com for $16,000,001.oo ...
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[loudbeats.com]

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for those who want to beat the $16M record price I'm selling the domains DomainsPriceWorldRecord.com and its short-URL 16000001.com for $16,000,001.oo ...
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lmao

[gaetanomarano]

lmao

ok... but just wait the day I sell it...

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[loudbeats.com]

ok... but just wait the day I sell it...

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lol okie waiting

[south]

ok... but just wait the day I sell it...

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[gaetanomarano]

lakechargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. com

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[south]

ImsorrybutImnotinterestedtobuyyourdomainalsosinceI dontunderstandwhatitmeans.org

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chaubunagungamaug