Melbourne IT buys Cogent

Domain name seller, Melbourne IT, has agreed to pay $4.5 million for Cogent IPC, a European firm which manages brand protection and control of famous brands on the Internet.

Melbourne IT CEO Theo Hnarakis, said the acquisition would strengthen the company's position in the growing market for corporate domain name management (CDM). The acquisition would be financed from cash reserves.

He was expecting the acquisition would be immediately cashflow and earnings positive over the next 12 months. Cogent had revenue of about $7 million in 2003.

'The Cogent IPC brand and experience will position Melbourne IT to be the only global CDM company offering expertise and support in each major region -- Australasia, Europe and The Americas -- for international companies seeking to safeguard their brands on the internet throughout the world,' he claimed.

'Additionally, our enhanced European presence will strengthen our existing reseller business in that region,' he said.

Cogent IPC was founded in 1996 and has 35 employees in Stockholm, London, Paris, Amsterdam and New York with clients in the automotive, clothing, banking, electrical, IT, furniture and food and beverage industries, a statement said.

For calendar 2003, Melbourne IT reported a revenue increase of four percent; an EBIT increase to $2.7 million and a profit after tax of $2.1 million, compared with a loss of $5 million the previous year.