An Apparent VeriSign Victory in .Com Registry

Today’s news is that the firm believes it will retain control either way. The Commerce Department is reviewing the .com Registry Agreement as required by the cooperative agreement between the Commerce Department and VeriSign. The company said, “While the authority to approve the renewal rests exclusively with the Commerce Department, the Commerce Department seeks inputs from other U.S. agencies, which includes the Department of Justice.” If the Commerce Department does not approve its filing prior to November 30, then VeriSign gets another 6 month extension for the .com Registry.

VeriSign said, “While the review process with the Commerce Department may extend beyond Nov. 30, 2012, it could also be concluded by Nov. 30, 2012. In either case, Verisign expects to continue to run the .com registry. Verisign believes that as of this date, the Department of Justice has substantially concluded its own review process.”

VeriSign shares are up over 6% at $39.47 in active trading against a 52-week trading range of $31.22 to $50.15.

JON C. OGG