Text of and comments on NSI IPO

[Antony Van Couvering <avc@netnamesusa.com>]

For all of you interested, here is a link to the full text of the NSI IPO

ftp://www.sec.gov/edgar/data/1030341/0000950133-97-002418.txt	

Some notes:

1. Although it may be there and I did not find it (it's over 200 pages
long), there appears to be no mention among the "risk factors" that NSI is
charging for two years worth of registration despite the fact that the
co-operative agreement with NSF expires in March 98, a charge that has
exercised some on this list to a great extent, and has led some to talk
about a class-action lawsuit.

2. SAIC is being investigated by the Justice Department, in the form of a
CID (Civil Investigative Demand).  According to the IPO prospectus, this
was initiated on June 27.  There are no details given except that this is
in connection with with an (quoting from the IPO Prospectus) "investigation
to determine whether there is, has been, or may be a violation of antitrust
laws under the Sherman Act relating to Internet registration products and
services. The CID seeks documents and information from SAIC and the Company
[Network Solutions, Inc.] relating to their Internet registration business.
Neither SAIC nor the Company is aware of the scope or nature of the
investigation."

One can only speculate whether this has something to do with the PGP Media
suit or if it comes from another quarter entirely.

3. NSI again asserts its rights in the customer database: "The Company has
compiled a database of information relating to customers in its
registration business. While a portion of this database is available to the
public, the Company believes that it has ownership rights in this database
and is seeking to protect such rights."

One wonders whether this means (a) that they claim ownership rights to the
information available via whois, or (b) that there is information that they
have which cannot be accessed via whois.  One would think on first glance
that they mean the latter, but having filled in hundreds of domain
registration forms, I cannot think what information I may have given that
is not available via whois.

4. Throughout, NSI talks about ".com" as their "brand".  IMHO, this is a
mistake, they ought to have chosen as their "brand" something more firmly
in their grasp.  It is not in the least clear that they "own" .com, and
hence they are in danger of losing their "brand."  Hence their indelible
opposition to shared registries.

4. NSI has 220 employees.

5. Gabe Battista makes $350,000 per year and stands to make nearly $500,000
in the event of a successful IPO.

Lots of other interesting stuff here.  It is recommended reading.

Antony Van Couvering
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Antony Van Couvering | avc@netnamesusa.com
NETNAMES USA - International Domain Name Registry
430 West 14th St., Suite 401 New York, NY 10014 USA
Phone Toll-free 888-NETNAMES | Intl: +1 212 627-4599 
Fax +1 212 627-5744 | http://www.netnamesusa.com
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