gonzo
08-09-2006, 12:00 PM
Kanoodle (http://www.bizjournals.com/search/bin/search?q=%22Kanoodle%22&t=buffalo) will be part of a $75 million-plus group of companies, following the acquisition of a major domain registration company and the spin off its content-targeted sponsored links business.
The senior management of Kanoodle will lead a new parent company called Seevast, with Kanoodle existing as one of three business units. Kanoodle will focus on search-targeted sponsored links; while newly created unit Pulse 360 handles content-targeted sponsored links.
[/URL]The third unit is [URL="http://moniker.com/"]Moniker.com (http://dc.bizjournals.com/event.ng/Type=click&FlightID=15782&AdID=23287&TargetID=3078&Segments=1,16,1208,3301,3622,3679,3862,3866,3980,4 058&Targets=3394,61,1101,3078,3381,3438,3619,3620,3733 ,3812&Values=25,31,43,51,60,72,78,83,90,100,110,150,152, 202,283,325,473,565,729,744,830,872,901,949,952,95 9,960,961,962,980,994,996,997,1009&RawValues=GEOMAJORMETRO%2Catlanta%2CDOMAINTYPE%2C2 5%2CST_VERT_TOPIC%2Cbanking_financial_services__in vestment_banking&Redirect=http://www.eworkmarkets.com/public/userprofile.cfm%3FRefSource%3D660), a Pompano Beach, Fla.-based company acquired in the past several months, that specializes in domain registration and monetization, or helping companies earn money from their sites. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Both companies announced the news Aug. 8 at the Search Engine Strategies Conference in San Jose, Calif.
Seevast will provide Web-based marketing services through the three units, with other acquisitions and start-ups possible as the company continues to grow.
Lance Podell, CEO of Seevast and formerly CEO at Kanoodle, said the move finally sets up Kanoodle to take advantage of its heritage while kickstarting it's future.
"The name is about having the vision to see different marketing organizations that could help our clients build brands, drive sales and leverage assets," he said.
With total combined revenues between $75 million and $100 million, Podell says the company is poised to grow very quickly, pushed by significant growth in its content business and by Moniker.com's success.
Founded in 1999, Moniker.com has been recognized as one of the fastest growing ICANN-accredited domain name registrars, receiving a special industry award from the World Association of Domain Name Developers at its TRAFFIC Domain Name Conference last fall for its ability to help secure customers' domain names.
Calling Moniker.com co-founders Monte Cahn and Eric Harrington superstars in their industry, Podell said the acquisition gives Kanoodle one more way to serve its customers.
"It gives us the opportunity to reach clients at an earlier stage before they even have domains, and leverage existing Kanoodle traffic," he said.
"The most exciting thing we saw was a real opportunity to better serve the needs of our advertisers and clients," he said. "Each business unit is operating independently with its own mind to the market, without any crossover baggage."
The combined company currently has about 120 employees, with 85 in Buffalo and the remainder in Seevast's New York City office and at Moniker.com's site in Pompano Beach. All three offices have openings. Plans call for keeping all technology, HR, customer support, finance staff and some direct sales staff in Buffalo, while keeping ad agency sales in New York. The company's offices on North Forest Road has enough room to handle the anticipated growth, with room for upwards of 150 people.
Kanoodle has grown rapidly since founded in Buffalo in 1999 by Kent Keating, who becomes chairman of Seevast. Last year, the company had revenues of $43.8 million, an increase of 239 percent over 2003. In the past six months, the company has announced several new deals, including an exclusive distribution agreement with Dow Jones & Company, renewal of a deal with Marketwatch.com (http://marketwatch.com/) and a distribution agreement with MSN. Other customers include MSNBC.com (http://msnbc.com/), USATODAY.com (http://usatoday.com/), CBS Television Stations Group and CBS Radio.
The senior management of Kanoodle will lead a new parent company called Seevast, with Kanoodle existing as one of three business units. Kanoodle will focus on search-targeted sponsored links; while newly created unit Pulse 360 handles content-targeted sponsored links.
[/URL]The third unit is [URL="http://moniker.com/"]Moniker.com (http://dc.bizjournals.com/event.ng/Type=click&FlightID=15782&AdID=23287&TargetID=3078&Segments=1,16,1208,3301,3622,3679,3862,3866,3980,4 058&Targets=3394,61,1101,3078,3381,3438,3619,3620,3733 ,3812&Values=25,31,43,51,60,72,78,83,90,100,110,150,152, 202,283,325,473,565,729,744,830,872,901,949,952,95 9,960,961,962,980,994,996,997,1009&RawValues=GEOMAJORMETRO%2Catlanta%2CDOMAINTYPE%2C2 5%2CST_VERT_TOPIC%2Cbanking_financial_services__in vestment_banking&Redirect=http://www.eworkmarkets.com/public/userprofile.cfm%3FRefSource%3D660), a Pompano Beach, Fla.-based company acquired in the past several months, that specializes in domain registration and monetization, or helping companies earn money from their sites. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Both companies announced the news Aug. 8 at the Search Engine Strategies Conference in San Jose, Calif.
Seevast will provide Web-based marketing services through the three units, with other acquisitions and start-ups possible as the company continues to grow.
Lance Podell, CEO of Seevast and formerly CEO at Kanoodle, said the move finally sets up Kanoodle to take advantage of its heritage while kickstarting it's future.
"The name is about having the vision to see different marketing organizations that could help our clients build brands, drive sales and leverage assets," he said.
With total combined revenues between $75 million and $100 million, Podell says the company is poised to grow very quickly, pushed by significant growth in its content business and by Moniker.com's success.
Founded in 1999, Moniker.com has been recognized as one of the fastest growing ICANN-accredited domain name registrars, receiving a special industry award from the World Association of Domain Name Developers at its TRAFFIC Domain Name Conference last fall for its ability to help secure customers' domain names.
Calling Moniker.com co-founders Monte Cahn and Eric Harrington superstars in their industry, Podell said the acquisition gives Kanoodle one more way to serve its customers.
"It gives us the opportunity to reach clients at an earlier stage before they even have domains, and leverage existing Kanoodle traffic," he said.
"The most exciting thing we saw was a real opportunity to better serve the needs of our advertisers and clients," he said. "Each business unit is operating independently with its own mind to the market, without any crossover baggage."
The combined company currently has about 120 employees, with 85 in Buffalo and the remainder in Seevast's New York City office and at Moniker.com's site in Pompano Beach. All three offices have openings. Plans call for keeping all technology, HR, customer support, finance staff and some direct sales staff in Buffalo, while keeping ad agency sales in New York. The company's offices on North Forest Road has enough room to handle the anticipated growth, with room for upwards of 150 people.
Kanoodle has grown rapidly since founded in Buffalo in 1999 by Kent Keating, who becomes chairman of Seevast. Last year, the company had revenues of $43.8 million, an increase of 239 percent over 2003. In the past six months, the company has announced several new deals, including an exclusive distribution agreement with Dow Jones & Company, renewal of a deal with Marketwatch.com (http://marketwatch.com/) and a distribution agreement with MSN. Other customers include MSNBC.com (http://msnbc.com/), USATODAY.com (http://usatoday.com/), CBS Television Stations Group and CBS Radio.