Ethos Capital is an American private equity investment firm founded in 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts, in order to make majority and control minority investments in middle-market companies, primarily across North America and Europe. It is best known for attempting and failing to gain control of the .org internet domain.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Founder | Erik Brooks |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Key people |
|
| Website | ethoscapital |
History
editIn 2020, Ethos made news for trying to purchase the .org domain and capitalize upon it using a portfolio of data-monetization startups.[1][2] After the takeover failed due to ICANN voting against the sale of the rights,[3] company founders Erik Brooks and Fadi Chehadé[4] went on to use the vehicle to buy domain name registrar Donuts and registry services provider Afilias from Abry Partners, where Brooks had been managing partner.[5][6][7] In 2022, Afilias and Donuts were merged into a single company, Identity Digital.[8]
Controversy
editMost press coverage of Ethos has focused on allegations of insider dealing between former ICANN CEO Chehadé, who registered the domain name ethoscapital.org in May 2019, one day after price caps were lifted from the .org domain.[9][10] and current employer Ethos Capital, and the unraveling of a complex web of interlocking control and ownership between domain name registries, registrars, and ICANN, which nominally regulates the domain name industry.[4][5][7][9]
References
edit- ^ Orenstein, Natalie (January 16, 2020). "A private equity firm wants to buy '.org' for $1 billion. A Berkeley-based cooperative says, 'not so fast'". Berkeleyside. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
- ^ "Ethos Capital: Engineering Growth". January 2, 2020. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020.
Investments: Whistle, Adhark, Liquidx, Vidmob
- ^ Lohr, Steve (May 1, 2020). "A Private Equity Firm Is Blocked from Buying .Org". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ a b Alleman, Andrew (July 17, 2020). "Fadi Chehadé is now co-CEO of Ethos Capital". Domain Name Wire. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ a b Murphy, Kevin (January 22, 2021). "Failed .org buyer Ethos Capital buys Donuts". Domain Incite. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ Hackney, Raymond (January 22, 2021). "Ethos Capital to Acquire Controlling Interest of Donuts". TheDomains. Worldwide Media. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- ^ a b "Ethos Capital Acquires Majority Control of Donuts". FinSMEs. April 2021. Archived from the original on April 1, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Allemann, Andrew (June 22, 2022). "Donuts rebrands to Identity Digital". Domain Name Wire | Domain Name News. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
- ^ a b McCarthy, Kieren. "Ex-boss of ICANN shifts from 'advisor' to co-CEO of private equity biz that tried to buy .org for $1bn+". The Register. Situation Publishing. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ Goldstein, David (November 25, 2019). "PIR Addresses Concerns Over Conflicts and Registry Fee Rises Following Takeover". Goldstein Report. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.