GoldNames is raising $10 million;The raising is based on a $25 after-money valuation Globes

From Ela Yaacov Basha (Translated by Emmanuel Mréjen)

(July 4, 2000)

GoldNames is raising $10 million according to a $25 million after money valuation from overseas venture capital funds and private investors. Crédit Suisse First Boston will represent GoldNames to raise the money.

This is the company’s second investment round. For its seed investment in January 2000, the company raised $2 million from Rimon Ben Shaul, CEO of Clal; Jonathan Bulkeley, former CEO of Barnesandnoble.com; Laurence Schreiber, Managing Director, Global Credit Structuring, Deutsche Bank; Baruch Halpert, Founder, E*Trade Israel; Ilan Slasky, CFO, Net2Phone; and other private investors.

GoldNames is an investment bank for internet domain names. It provides consulting services for the purchase of domain names and, according to its team, has created a “liquid market” for domain names. The company envisions that internet domain names are becoming a “new asset class.”

The company, which is based in Jerusalem, was founded by its CEO David Teten. Teten is a Harvard and Yale graduate and was formerly a banker for Bear Stearns. The company has subsidiaries in Western Europe, in Scandinavia, and in Spanish speaking countries. The Board of Directors includes Shlomo Kalish, founder of Jerusalem Golbal, Thomas Steinberg, President of Tisch Family Interests and former Vice President of Goldman Sachs.

*Corrections: The $25 valuation is pre-money and GoldNames does not have subsidiaries in Scandinavia and in Spanish speaking countries.

Globes