Hostway
to Acquire .pro Registry [Feb 12, 2004]
CHICAGO, Feb 12, 2004 /PRNewswire via
COMTEX/ -- Hostway Corporation, a global leader in Web
hosting and managed services, today announced its wholly
owned subsidiary, Registry Services Corporation, will
become the registry operator for the .pro top-level
Internet domain for professionals, after it acquires
the core assets of RegistryPro, a subsidiary of Register.com,
Inc. (RCOM).
Register.com today disclosed in its
quarterly earnings release the pending transaction with
Hostway, which is subject to approval by the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
ICANN approval of the transaction is anticipated in
the near term.
Registry Services Corporation intends
to launch the .pro registry in the second quarter of
2004.
"The .pro domain has terrific potential
to serve a vital group of Internet users," said
Lucas Roh, President and CEO of Hostway. "We believe
lawyers, accountants, doctors and service professionals
will be eager to use the .pro domain as a way of identifying
and differentiating their professional status. As the
Internet evolves, .pro will become a catalyst for simplified
communication and help with the creation of valuable
social interaction. We're committed to launching the
.pro registry and excited to help advance the evolution
of the Internet."
The financial terms of the acquisition
were undisclosed.
"The .pro registry is an exciting
opportunity but is not core to our businesses,"
said Peter Forman, President & CEO of Register.com.
"This sale allows us to focus on our registrar
business, while retaining the ability to benefit from
.pro's success in the future. We are eager to offer
.pro names to our customers as a registrar and I look
forward to Hostway maximizing .pro's potential."
Registry Services Corporation will honor
all existing .pro sunrise registrations. The .pro extension
is available exclusively for professionals and has three
basic components: a domain name, cross-verification
of professional and identity information, and a digital
certificate -- a building block of secure communications
and transactions.
About Hostway
Hostway
Corporation provides Web hosting and managed services
to more than 300,000 customers worldwide. Hostway helps
individuals, small businesses and large enterprises
achieve more value from state-of-the-art Web-based technologies
by reducing their complexity and cost. Founded in 1998,
Hostway is one of the five largest Web hosting companies
in the world with offices in the Americas (Chicago,
Tampa and Vancouver), Europe (London and Amsterdam)
and Asia (Seoul and Sydney). For more information about
Hostway Corporation, please visit www.hostway.com
or call 1-888-290-5170.
Hostway: Mina Arsala, 312-238-0132,
mina@hostway.com
Hostway: Mark Smith, 312-371-6443, mark.smith@strongforcegroup.com
SOURCE Hostway Corporation
Mina Arsala, +1-312-238-0132, mina@hostway.com
, or
Mark Smith, +1-312-371-6443, mark.smith@strongforcegroup.com
, both for
Hostway Corporation |
