Melbourne IT, an Australian domain name registrar, has bought Cogent IPC, a European brand manager, for $4.5 million. The deal was funded from Melbourne IT’s cash reserves.
According to Melbourne IT, Cogent manages brand protection and control for many of the world’s most famous brands on the Internet. Volvo, HMV and Absolut are among company’s clients. Cogent IPC has 35 employees in company’s offices in Amsterdam, London, New York, Paris and Stockholm. The company recorded revenue of $7 million in 2003.
Theo Hnarakis, CEO of Melbourne IT, said that the deal would result in positive cash flow immediately and would become profitable within the next 12 months. Hnarakis added that Cogent would add to Melbourne IT’s stable of corporate domain name managers in Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the USA.
In 2003, Melbourne IT registered an after tax profit of $2.1 million compared to a loss of $5 million in 2002.
