Most of us probably already know that the $13 million sale of Sex.com was the top all-cash, public domain sale of all time. This sale has now been officially documented by the folks at Guinness World Records, the organization that publishes the Guinness Book of World Records.

In a press release issued this morning, Sedo, celebrating its 10 year anniversary, has announced that the Sex.com sale set a Guinness World Record for “most expensive internet address domain name.”

I am not sure if this was a newly introduced category in the Guinness World Records or if there was a previous title holder, but it’s pretty cool to see the sale of a domain name listed as a World Record. Congrats to Sedo!

Press Release Follows:

Sedo, the online domain specialist, today announced that its recent brokerage of Sex.com has earned the Guinness World Record™ for “most expensive internet address domain name.” Sex.com was sold for £8.2 million on 17^th November 2010.

Sedo, which celebrated its milestone 10-year anniversary on 12 February, has grown to be a trusted advisor in the domain industry. As the world’s largest domain name marketplace, Sedo has brokered over £240 million worth of domain names including a number of high-profile, seven-figure transactions for premium domains such as Vodka.com, Pizza.com and Russia.com.

“The sale of Sex.com was truly a team effort. We spent about two years with the domain, establishing the relationship, researching and finding the right buyer and managing the domain’s transfer,” said Kathy Nielsen, director of sales at Sedo. “We’re honoured that Sedo was trusted with such a high-value and high-profile sale, and we’re ecstatic that it is now being recognized by Guinness World Records as a record-breaking deal.”

“With a prominent sale like Sex.com, the domain transfer process can be incredibly complicated,” said Jeremiah Johnston, chief operating officer and global counsel at Sedo. “But what makes Sedo unparalleled in the industry is that we work just as closely with domains of any size – to expedite and simplify the transaction, as well as eliminate unnecessary risks for both the seller and new owner.”

To learn more about the 2010 domain marketplace, sales figures and statistics, please visit Sedo’s 2010/Q4 1010 Domain Market Study: http://sedo.co.uk/fileadmin/documents/pressdownload/Q4_2010_DomainMarketStudy_UK.pdf

An article in the Register this morning is reporting that Sex.com has been sold by Sedo for $13 million. According to the article, the buyer is Clover Holdings LTD, and there were 12 companies that placed bids on the domain name. The article cited California Bankruptcy Court documents, and court approval is needed for this sale to be transacted.

I’ve reached out to Sedo and a few other parties who are familiar with the domain sale for comment, and I will post more information as it comes.

More to come…

I received a press release this morning officially announcing that Sedo will be the broker for the Sex.com domain name. Sex.com was nearly sold at a foreclosure auction in March, but the sale was derailed due to legal proceedings, which included an Involuntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition. If you’ve read about its tumultuous history, Sex.com is certainly a star crossed domain name.

It does not appear that Sex.com will be sold via auction or other special sale. Sedo has requested that interested buyers contact the company directly to discuss a sale. With Sedo’s history of strong generic domain sales, I have no doubt that they will be able to close a sale for Sex.com.

Full press release is below.

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Sedo, the leading online domain marketplace and broker of super premium domain names, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Escom, LLC to privately broker the sale of Sex.com, widely considered to be the world’s most valuable domain name, as well as two related trademark registrations with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

“We are excited to be working with Sedo and believe Sedo’s vast experience, expertise with high value domain names, credibility and worldwide network of clients will ensure that Escom receives a price for the sex.com domain name and its related trademarks that reflects its true value as the best domain name in the world” said Del Anthony, CEO of Escom.

“It is an extremely rare opportunity that a domain name of this caliber becomes available for sale”, said Kathy Nielsen, Director of Sales at Sedo. “We are very pleased to be chosen as the exclusive brokerage firm to represent this domain sale. Short, descriptive domains are an amazing marketing vehicle. The sale of sex.com presents potential buyers with a once in a lifetime opportunity. The possibilities for this domain are endless and will enable the new owner to instantly define itself as a leader in its industry.”

Descriptive domains that define a category historically have been the most valuable properties on the Web. ‘Sex’ continues to be one of the most searched for terms on the Web and its mainstream appeal has grown exponentially over the past few years. The new owner of this domain will enjoy a clear competitive advantage as a market leader, dramatically enhanced organic search rankings, tremendous traffic generated from direct navigation and an unsurpassed ability to drive online marketing and branding initiatives.

Parties interested in buying the Sex.com domain should contact Sedo at consult@sedo.com.

About Sedo

Sedo, an acronym for “Search Engine for Domain Offers,” is the leading domain marketplace and monetization provider. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Sedo has assembled the world’s largest database of domain names for sale, with more than 16 million listings. The success of Sedo’s model has attracted a global membership base of more than 1 million domain professionals.

I just received an email from regarding the Sex.com domain name, which had been scheduled to be auctioned tomorrow morning in New York City. According to the email sent to me, legal action has been filed, and the domain auction will apparently not take place as previously scheduled as a result. The news was released by Mike Mann via Facebook and Twitter (see screenshot below).

Here’s the news release that was sent to me:

Woodland Hills, California – Creditors of Escom, LLC (“Escom”) today filed an involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition against Escom in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California (San Fernando Valley Division).

Petitioners took this action to protect their interests and to maximize value for all other creditors and equity holders. The filing will stay the public auction foreclosure proceedings previously scheduled for March 18, 2010, which petitioners believe would have diminished the value of Escom’s assets.

For more information, please contact:
Lawrence Morrison, Esq.
Meister Seelig & Fein LLP
(212) 655-3582

As I previously reported, Sex.com will be up for auction at the law offices of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP, 156 West 56th Street, New York, New York on March 18, 2010 at 11 am. The auction is a result of a foreclosure, a few years after the 2006 sale, which was reported (but never confirmed) to be in the ballpark of $14 million.

At the time of my initial article, neither the auction house nor the law firm representing the lender would confirm the opening price/minimum bid for the auction, although it was stated that a $1,000,000 certified check would be required to bid. 

I was just informed by Richard Maltz of Maltz Auctions that there will be no reserve price for the Sex.com auction. Registered bidders will be permitted to bid online or in person at the Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP offices. In addition, Maltz added, “the secured party does reserve the right to bid under the law.”

Without a reserve price set, I would expect several bidders to participate in this landmark auction. Full auction details, including the terms and conditions (pdf) of the auction are available on the Maltz Auctions website.