Mark Monitor is to be acquired by NewFold Digital from its current owners Clarivate.
Mark Monitor is one of the longest established corporate domain name registrars and provides services to many of the Fortune 500 companies.
The deal sees the company swapping hands for $302.5 million.
The company was originally founded in Boise back in 1999. It was previously acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2012, before being bought by its current owner, Clarivate, in 2016.
This latest acquisition could be the last one. NewFold Digital is a hosting and domain company, whereas previous owners were not and simply wanted the revenue from the business unit or viewed the business through a very different lens. NewFold is a domain company at its core. Bear in mind that NewFold is the parent company of many well known names in the domain and hosting space including Web.com and Network Solutions.
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
Here’s the official press release:
London, UK, and Jacksonville, FL, Sept 12, 2022 – Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, today announced that Newfold Digital (“Newfold”), a leading web and commerce technology provider backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Clearlake”) and Siris Capital Group, LLC (together with its affiliates, “Siris”), has signed a definitive agreement to purchase MarkMonitor™, an industry-leading enterprise-level provider of domain management solutions.
Under the terms of the agreement, Clarivate will receive cash proceeds of approximately $302.5 million. The transaction is expected to close in late 2022 subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Gordon Samson, Chief Product Officer of Clarivate, said: “Newfold is a natural fit for MarkMonitor. After the deal closes, we believe the integration of these two companies will create a rich product suite and differentiated web presence offering that brings value to businesses of all sizes. We are confident that MarkMonitor will continue to thrive and deliver even greater services to its customers under Newfold. After this transaction is closed, Clarivate will be better placed to focus even more attention and investment on our core portfolio and everything critical to IP lifecycle management.”
The acquisition of MarkMonitor will underscore Newfold Digital’s continued commitment to providing differentiated web presence solutions to customers across the globe. MarkMonitor, an ICANN-accredited registrar and recognized industry leader since 1999, serves the domain management needs of approximately 2,000 clients globally, with a focus on Fortune 500 companies and other large corporate clients. This will make MarkMonitor a natural extension of Newfold’s portfolio of web technology brands, which includes Network Solutions, the world’s first registrar, Web.com, Bluehost, Register.com and Domain.com.
“As web presence needs continue to grow and evolve, domain management and protection is becoming more important. Companies need reliable partners and solutions that deliver results, and MarkMonitor is well-known for its expertise in serving the domain portfolio needs of some of the most sophisticated digital companies in the world, making it a natural fit for our family of web technology brands,” said Sharon Rowlands, CEO of Newfold Digital.
The MarkMonitor team, led by Head of Domain Management Stu Homan, will join Newfold.
“We’re proud that Newfold recognizes the value of MarkMonitor’s top-tier global domain management service,” Homan said. “The combined capabilities of MarkMonitor and Newfold will deliver and improve on the same great services that our clients have enjoyed and relied upon for years.”
“MarkMonitor will bring a rich history of industry experience and innovative solutions, and we are looking forward to welcoming the team to Newfold,” said James Pade, Partner, Clearlake, and Tyler Sipprelle, Managing Director at Siris, each a director of Newfold.
MarkMonitor is currently expected to generate approximately $80 million of revenue and $35 million of EBITDA for the full year 2022.
Sidley Austin is acting as legal adviser and RBC Capital Markets and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as financial advisors to Newfold, with BNP PARIBAS, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho and UBS Investment Bank also providing advice. Evercore is acting as financial advisor and Blank Rome LLP is acting as legal advisor to Clarivate.
