News from 2021

CentralNic Group Acquires SafeBrands, Enhances Brand Services

LONDON, 12 January 2021 – CentralNic Group PLC (AIM: CNIC), the fastest-growing company in the domain name industry, with over 45 million domains using its platforms, is pleased to announce it has acquired leading corporate internet services provider, SafeBrands. An award-winning innovator and technology pioneer, SafeBrands will add its online brand protection and domain name management products and expertise to CentralNic’s industry-leading suite of digital services for businesses.

SafeBrands’ proprietary state-of-the-art internet monitoring tools and enforcement expertise have to date only been available to companies in French-speaking markets. CentralNic will make them available to companies globally, to help them protect their revenue streams in digital channels – as part of CentralNic’s global Brand Services, which currently serves clients worldwide through teams based in the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and a dozen other countries.

SafeBrands’ strong presence in France, one of the largest internet services markets globally, complements BrandShelter’s leading position as a corporate registrar in Germany – positioning CentralNic as the European champion for corporate domain portfolio management and online brand protection, as well as one of the top three global leaders available to serve customers in any country.

Ben Crawford, CentralNic Group CEO, commented: “This is an important next step for CentralNic in our strategy to provide comprehensive end-to-end digital domain name and online brand protection services to corporate clients, globally. We are delighted that SafeBrands, its talented team of digital and IP protection experts, cutting-edge software and service portfolio and established business relationships, are becoming part of our Group.”

Haydn Simpson, CentralNic’s Head of Brand Services, said: “Intellectual Property is the lifeblood of any company, creating value and differentiation, and the successful future of any brand depends on protecting it with maximum efficiency. SafeBrands’ brand protection products will help CentralNic further broaden our capabilities in this space, creating an unparalleled suite of solutions for our current and future customers.”

Charles Tiné, CEO and founder of SafeBrands, added: “In the fast-growing domain name market, this represents a fantastic opportunity for SafeBrands to join the CentralNic family with the clear ambition to create a world leader in corporate domain management, online brand protection and DNS security. We share many common values that are reflected in the many synergies between our teams and technical platforms. CentralNic’s resources and growth strategy are aligned with our ambitions and point to a very exciting future. After 23 years of organic and independent development, Frederic Guillemaut and myself are convinced to have found the perfect fit for SafeBrands’ V2.”

About CentralNic Group PLC

CentralNic (AIM: CNIC) is a global company listed on the London stock exchange that drives the growth of the global digital economy by developing and managing software platforms allowing businesses to buy subscriptions to domain names and related services, including protecting their brands online. In addition to providing core infrastructure services for the internet, CentralNic is a leader in protecting internet users through its sophisticated software, dedicated anti-abuse teams, and partnerships with such entities as the Global Cyber Alliance.

CentralNic’s Brand Services companies offer the range of domain portfolio management and brand protection services to companies around the world, from small businesses to some of the largest companies in the world.

For more information, please visit www.centralnicgroup.com