Top Level Domain Holdings

Expressions of Interest Update

Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd (AIM: TLDH) is pleased to note that ICANN, the internet’s independent governing body, has resolved to progress the development of the proposed Expressions of Interest (”EOI”) process model and has requested that it be submitted for approval at ICANN’s next Board meeting on 10 February 2010. The preliminary minutes of ICANN’s last Board meeting, released on 9 December 2009, state that following the public comment phase, “ICANN staff shall present a proposed EOI process model for approval at the ICANN Board’s February 2010 meeting”.

The Directors of Top Level Domain Holdings believe this represents a significant step forward and underlines ICANN’s commitment to expanding the number of top level domains on the internet.

As announced by Top Level Domain Holdings on 6 November 2009, the EOI process will allow ICANN to establish the number of proposed new generic top level domains (”gTLDs“) being applied for, and to size and resolve the relevant technical issues arising from the creation of new gTLDs ahead of the formal application process beginning. The EOI process will also allow ICANN to see which applications might be in contention, and to enable ICANN, should it so wish, to categorize and sequence applications for any future roll-out.

It is anticipated that prior to ICANN’s February meeting, the ICANN staff’s recommendations on the proposed EOI process will be made public on the internet.

Frederic Krueger, Chairman and CEO of Top Level Domain Holdings Limited, commented:

“We are delighted with these developments. For the first time we are now seeing a clear time-table emerging for the expansion of top level domains on the internet. Once again we applaud the determination being shown by ICANN to starting the gTLD programme in 2010 and look forward to reviewing the EOI recommendations as and when they are made public.”

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About TLDH

Top Level Domain Holdings (AIM:TLDH) is a publicly-traded holding company. The company is currently focused specifically on the new top level domain space. Top level domains (such as .com, .net and .org) are organized and controlled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN has recently announced plans to expand the universe of generic and country top level domains. TLDH intends to make targeted investments in this space, focusing on both infrastructure technologies and specific top level domains.

Note to editor – about ICANN:

ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet’s system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet’s operation, so ICANN’s global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet’s ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit: www.icann.org.

Contact details:

Top Level Domain Holdings Limited

North America
Fred Krueger                              Tel: +1 310 866 1935
Antony Van Couvering                Tel: +1 917 406 712

Europe
David Weill                                 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7881 0180

Beaumont Cornish Limited
Roland Cornish/Michael Cornish      Tel +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

gth media relations
Toby Hall /Christian Pickel Tel: +44 (0) 20 7153 8039/8036

Holdings in Company: 10 December 2009

TLDH was informed on 4 December 2009 that Libra Fund, LP owns 19,160,000 ordinary shares and Libra Offshore Master Fund, LP owns 4,790,000 ordinary shares in the Company, together in aggregate 23,950,000 ordinary shares representing 8.5 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company. Libra Advisors LLC are investment advisors to Libra Fund, LP and Libra Offshore Master Fund, LP and have the rights to vote the ordinary shares.

Further Information:
Top Level Domain Holdings Limited.
David Weill
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7881 0180

Beaumont Cornish Limited
Michael Cornish
Tel +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

Or visit www.tldh.org

Angstrom Capital Holdings in the Company

TLDH was informed on 11 September 2009 that following a recent share disposal Angstrom Capital Limited no longer has a notifiable interest in the total voting rights in the Company.

Further Information:
Top Level Domain Holdings Limited.
David Weill
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7881 0180

Beaumont Cornish Limited
Michael Cornish
Tel +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

Or visit the group’s website at www.tldh.org
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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)

Holding(s) in Company; Total Voting Rights

Holding(s) in Company
The Company was notified today that Mrs Elliott, the wife of Mr Guy Elliott, the Company’s Deputy Chairman and Non-Executive Director, on 27 August 2009 purchased 131,600 TLDH shares at a price of 10.5p per ordinary share. As a result Mrs Elliott now owns 186,350 ordinary shares representing 0.07 per cent. of the Company’s issued share capital.

Total Voting Rights
For the purposes of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority, the Board of TLDH is required to notify the market of the following: (more…)

Holdings in Company

TLDH was informed on 20 August 2009 that following a recent share disposal Angstrom Capital Limited now holds the total voting rights attaching to 12,163,036 ordinary shares, representing 4.34% of the total voting rights in the Company.

In addition, Mrs Elliott, the wife of Mr Guy Elliott, the Company’s Deputy Chairman and Non-Executive Director, has confirmed to the Company today that on 19 August 2009 she purchased 54,750 TLDH shares at a price of 8p per ordinary share. As a result Mrs Elliott now owns 54,750 ordinary shares representing 0.02 per cent. of the Company’s issued share capital. (more…)