Google share price: Internet search giant pays $25 million for ‘.app’ TLD

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), the world’s largest online search company, has paid $25 million in a recent ICANN auction to acquire the top-level-domain (TLD) “.app”. The winning bid by Google-owned company Charleston Road Registry Inc is believed to be the highest so far.

In 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organisation which is responsible for managing web addresses, decided to expand the overall number of generic TLDs. The body has been gradually auctioning off the different domains since June 2014 and has sold TLDs for hefty sums to companies such as Amazon Inc. The online retailer purchased “.buy” for nearly $5 million and “.spot” for $2.2 million in the autumn.

Compared to this, it may seem that Google have overpaid for the .app suffix, but the domain offers a unique opportunity for the company. The tech giant could boost the appeal of its Google Play store by offering developers the chance to get a .app domain linking directly to their Google Play page. Alternatively, the company could decide to sell the domain to everyone through its domain registry service, like it does with the other TLDs it currently holds.

“The proposed gTLD will provide application developers with the ability to customise domain and website name application offerings to signal to the general population of internet users that .app websites are indeed related to applications and application developers,” Charleston Road Registry said.
“This specialisation makes it clear to internet users that this is the authoritative and designated space where they can find applications and information about developers accessible via differentiated and streamlined web addresses.”
In today’s trading, Google shares were up 0.8 percent at $563.70, shortly after the opening bell in New York. The stock has risen 6.2 percent since the start of the year. The company’s market capitalisation currently stands at $382.6.
According to CNNMoney, the 40 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Google have a median target of $625.00, with a high estimate of $700.00 and a low estimate of $530.00. The current consensus among 47 polled investment analysts is to purchase equity in the company.
As of 15:52 GMT, Friday, 27 February, Google share price is $559.35.