Re-branded Network Solutions gets a facelift

SEATTLE: VeriSign Inc. re-launched Network Solutions Inc. in a bid to breathe new life into the web's largest seller of web addresses and provider of e-mail and website services. VeriSign had previously folded Network Solutions under its own brand. It bought the registrar in mid-2000 for stock valued at $17 billion, the largest acquisition in the software industry to date. The company said Network Solutions’ new domain name registration, website hosting and e-mail service would be re-introduced with a revamped website and a simplified pricing system.

"VeriSign is trying to portray itself as the security utility of the Internet, providing authentication, verification and security technology for online communication, transactions and communication. The decision to separate Network Solutions as a wholly-owned subsidiary was an extension of that strategy," said Champion Mitchell, President, Network Solutions.

"They're just two totally different businesses that need separate identities; we needed a different brand for the registrar, " said Mitchell, who is also the executive Vice President of VeriSign. Asked if Network Solutions was being prepared to be acquired, Mitchell said, "I've learned to never say never. The reason we're doing this is to simply create a separate identity for a separate group of customers."

Mitchell informed that VeriSign had 12.5 million domain names 18 months ago, which were pared back to less than 6 million after closing inactive accounts. Currently, Network Solutions manages over 9 million domain names, VeriSign said.

To attract new customers to the re-launched registrar business, Network Solutions said it would offer airline miles with four of the largest U.S. airlines each time that services are registered or renewed. VeriSign shares rose 21 cents, or almost 2.5 percent, to $8.76 at mid-afternoon on Nasdaq. This is just a quarter of its value a year earlier but more than double its lows in 2002.

© Reuters