USA TODAY: Sex.com, long coveted as potentially one of the most lucrative sites on the Web because of its catchy name, has been sold for about $12 million in cash and stock, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters on Monday.
Escom, a group of anonymous buyers, said in a statement it had acquired the Web address Sex.com from Gary Kremen, chief executive of Grant Media and the founder of Match.com. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The new owners said in the statement that they plan to transform Sex.com into “the market-leading adult entertainment destination,” which they said would include “adult dating opportunities,” sex and relationship advice, erotica, video-on-demand and live chat.
The sale ranks as one of the most expensive Web domain name transfers ever and outpaces the $7.5 million paid for business.com in 1999 at the peak of the dotcom boom.
Check out “The Taking of Sex.Com” by Michael Gross in the February Playboy magazine to read the whole rolicking saga of the most valuable domain name on the internet.