|
Top Investors, Industry Talent Rally Behind Internet REIT
19 May 2006 Internet REIT (iREIT), a leading supplier of high-value Internet traffic to advertisers, today announced that it has raised a new round of equity and debt financing led by Maveron LLC, the venture firm co-founded by Dan Levitan and Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz. The round of funding also includes significant investments by existing investor Jacobson Family Investments (JFI), as well as Perot Investments, the investment firm founded by H. Ross Perot. With this round of funding, Dan Levitan, Managing Partner, Maveron LLC and Steve Blasnik, President, Perot Investments join the Board of Directors.
iREIT is working with top domain name portfolio owners to build the world's largest, most profitable and highest-quality portfolio of Internet domain names, with traffic on par with the world's leading media properties. The company has completed over 50 portfolio transactions in the past fifteen months, including the acquisition of the Netster.com web portal, Bands.com, OfficeSupply.com and AfricanAmericans.com.
Traffic reaches iREIT's sites primarily through "direct navigation," the practice of locating a Web site by typing directly into the browser's address bar. Direct navigation is one of three ways companies such as Google are supplied with advertising traffic. With more than 400,000 domain properties that receive over 50 million visitors per month, iREIT is now a leading supplier of Internet advertising traffic to Google.
"In fifteen months, we've taken the company from idea to profitability, amassed a substantial portfolio of domains, and become a leading provider of traffic to the world's biggest search engine. The quality of investors iREIT has attracted is strong validation for our model, our team and our explosive growth," said Bob Martin, chief executive officer of iREIT.
"As a direct navigation leader, iREIT focuses on helping users find what they're looking for in a way that is optimal for both the consumer and advertisers. We believe this consumer-focused approach will transform the online experience and help put iREIT at the top of this rapidly expanding market," said Dan Levitan, managing partner, Maveron LLC.
Internet Pioneer Mark Britto Joins the Board
Mark Britto, chief executive officer of Ingenio, has also joined iREIT's board. Britto brings a combination of consumer technology and financial expertise to iREIT. Prior to Ingenio, Britto was Amazon.com's Senior Vice President, Worldwide Services, Sales and Business Development, where he was responsible for landmark deals with national brands such as Target, Borders Books, and Circuit City. Britto joined Amazon.com in June 1999 as part of the acquisition of Accept.com, which he co-founded in October 1998.
"While the Internet continues to attract a large share of the total advertising spend, advertisers are becoming increasingly focused on traffic quality and ROI rather than just 'eyeballs' or clicks," said Mark Britto, chief executive officer of Ingenio. "iREIT has the right team and the best platform for generating high-quality traffic for advertisers."
Britto joins a growing team of industry talent that includes domain name pioneer and iREIT co-founder Marc Ostrofsky. Ostrofsky coined the phrase: "Domain Names are the Real Estate of the Internet" in 1995 and went on to sell the domain name "Business.com" for a world-record $7.5 million. Others added to the iREIT team include Sid Parfait, a domain industry veteran who joined the company when iREIT acquired his high-value portfolio; and Vince Claude, an expert in domain systems architecture and development. Domain industry talent is a key differentiator for iREIT in an increasingly crowded and complex market.
"iREIT has assembled a team of industry experts and entrepreneurs who understand both the market and how to build a world-class company," said Stuart J. Rabin, Chairman of Internet REIT. "The quality of our team and our proven approach to the business have enabled us to secure significant capital and outstanding partners to pursue a very aggressive acquisition and development strategy. The company has quickly become powerful force in online advertising."
About Internet REIT
Internet REIT (iREIT) is a leading supplier of high-value Internet traffic to advertisers. iREIT is working with top domain name portfolio owners to build the world's largest, most profitable and highest-quality portfolio of Internet domain names, with traffic on par with the world's leading media properties. iREIT's portfolio of high-quality domains includes premier properties such as the Netster.com portal, Bands.com, AfricanAmericans.com, NativeAmericans.com, VietnamWar.com, OfficeSupply.com, and many others. iREIT is a privately held company based in Houston, Texas. For more information about iREIT, please visit http://www.ireit.com.
Source: prnewswire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Related Internet Articles
|
 | Unlimited Domain Hosting Only $10 a Month
Founded in 2002, Hostgator.com, LLC has quickly grown from its humble beginnings in Boca Raton, Florida into one of the most respected names in the web hosting industry. Renowned for exceptional customer support and unrivaled in terms of customer satisfaction, Host Gator is poised to take the lead in the highly competitive and densely populated world of web hosting providers.
For more information!
Click Here |
|
|
 | Got Root?! 1&1 Dedicated Servers starting at $99 mo.
We guarantee the highest product quality, top security, and unshakeable reliability. 1&1’s advanced Data Centers have been built from the ground up using the most advanced technology available, giving our global network a strength that is beyond doubt. The power and stability of 1&1’s systems allows us to be first to market with web products that are innovative yet dependable.
For more information!
Click Here |
|
|
 | Get a full dedicated server starting at just $29.95!
ServerPronto is a dedicated hosting subsidiary of Infolink, one of a few profitable Data Center Corporations in the world. From it's beginning in January 1999, Infolink served the "Value Orientated" segment of the Internet market. Not by offering a sub-standard product at a low price, but by offering a top-quality, feature rich product at an incredible price. Since the beginning Infolink has enjoyed dramatic growth while other's in the industry have suffered. We operate our own network in the USA and maintain redundant Fiber Optic Rings which allow us to directly peer with Tier 1 Internet Backbones.
For more information!
Click Here |
|
|
