Top Level Domain Holdings

Minds + Machines to provide registry services for BayernConnect, applicant for .bayern, TLD for Bavaria

Munich — Bavarian citizens, associations and organizations will soon be able to express and underline their Bavarian identity by registering their Internet address under .BAYERN, the new web address for Bavaria. Thousands of new names will be available to Bavarians in addition to the existing .de or .com domain names.

“Bavarians are proud of the their homeland and heritage, and our position as the Internet leaders in Germany. Bavaria deserves to take its rightful place on the Internet with .BAYERN, an Internet address for Bavarians,” said Bayern Connect CEO Caspar von Veltheim. “The new address will give Bavaria visibility and prestige, and will encourage innovation and new business opportunities.” (more…)

Issue of Equity — 2,430,429 new shares

The Directors of TLDH (AIM: TLDH) today announce that the Company has issued and allotted 2,430,429 new ordinary shares (the “Ordinary Shares”) on exercise of warrants at an exercise price of 4p per Ordinary Share for an aggregate payment of £97,217.16. The new Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares in issue and application will be made for the new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM, following which TLDH will have an enlarged issued share capital of 282,939,275 Ordinary Shares admitted to trading on AIM. Trading in the new Ordinary Shares on AIM is expected to commence on or around 14 September 2009. (more…)

Acquisition of further interest in DotEco LLC (”Dot Eco”)

On 27 May 2009 the Board of Top Level Domain Holdings Limited (AIM: TLDH) announced that it had subscribed for a 10.0 per cent. interest (on a fully diluted basis) in DotEco  for a cash consideration of US$200,000 (the “Initial Investment”). The Company has agreed today to acquire a further 15 per cent. interest in DotEco for a cash consideration of US$200,000, financed from its current cash resources, following which its interest in DotEco will amount to 25 per cent. (the “Acquisition”).

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (”ICANN”) announced its intention to allow qualified parties to apply to own and operate new generic TLDs (”gTLDs”). DotEco, which is based in California, intends to build an environmentally-focused gTLD and entered into an integrated partnership with former US Vice President Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection which supports DotEco’s efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of climate change. DotEco intends to submit an application with ICANN for the eco top level domain. The Company expects that the application and approval process could take up to 24 months. As DotEco is a start-up venture it has not to date prepared any financial statements. (more…)

Portfolio Company Minds and Machines wins .FM business

Minds and Machines, a wholly owned subsidiary of TLDH announced today that it will be providing registry back-end software services for .FM, the popular music related top level domain in conjunction with CoCCA. Here’s the press release:

dotFM Chooses Espresso Registry Platform for .FM Top-Level Domain

JOINS 14 COUNTRIES NOW USING THE ESPRESSO PLATFORM TO BE USED BY MINDS + MACHINES FOR NEW WEB ADDRESSES

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ — Effective today, BRS Media Inc., operator of dotFM, will use Espresso CC as the registry platform for the .FM top-level domain, home of last.fm and other prominent web addresses. Migration of all existing domain names to the new platform was completed in 48 hours over the last few days. .FM will utilize UltraDNS for domain name resolution.

.FM is the latest of 14 country-code domains to choose the Espresso CC registry platform to manage its top-level domain and to endorse the powerful Espresso platform – which Minds + Machines will use for the new top-level domains expected to launch next year.

Espresso CC, developed as a co-operative effort between CoCCA and Minds + Machines, is a next-generation registry services platform for country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Its rich feature set – combined with its long-established reputation for stability, ease of use and attractive pricing – has attracted growing interest and to date has been adopted by 14 ccTLDs. Its cousin Espresso, which is fully ICANN-compliant, will be used by Minds + Machines for the new generic top-level domains to be issued by ICANN early in 2010.

“After comparing several registry systems along with soliciting input from major registrars, we are pleased to have upgraded to the Espresso CC Registry Platform,” said George T Bundy, Chairman and CEO of BRS Media Inc. “With its impressive management features, field-tested stability, and fully integrated EPP compliance, the Espresso CC is the benchmark for the exciting future of dotFM.”

“We’re thrilled to see dotFM join the growing list of top-level domains that have chosen to rely on Espresso, and we look forward to providing this terrific platform to the new web addresses from ICANN that are creating so much excitement,” said Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines. “George Bundy is an Internet pioneer with long experience and his choice of Espresso is a huge vote of confidence that we’re very proud of.”

In addition to highly popular top-level domains such as dotFM, Minds + Machines provides capacity-building grants through CoCCA to emerging country-code registries – providing equipment, training and ongoing guidance as well as free implementation of the Espresso CC platform.

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will early next year begin accepting applications for top-level domains named after cities, companies, brands and entrepreneurial ventures. Minds + Machines has previously announced partnerships to provide registry services using the Espresso platform for proposed new web addresses including .eco (www.supportdoteco.com), .nyc (www.dotnyc.net), .roma (http://www.ildominiodiroma.it/index_eng.html) and .radio (http://www.dotradio.info)