ICANN Further Delays Sale of .ORG Registry by PIR

[engine]

ICANN has said it'll further delay the sale of of .ORG Registry by PIR while the California Attorney General reviews the sale.

The extension of the review period is now until May 4, 2020.

[icann.org...]

Earlier stories
ICANN to Review Sale of .ORG Registry by PIR [webmasterworld.com]
.Org Registry Acquired By Private Equity Company [webmasterworld.com]

[lammert]

The Attorney General is not just reviewing the sale, they are strongly opposed to it in their April 15 letter to ICANN [icann.org]. The letter starts with

I urge ICANN to reject the transfer of control over the .ORG registry to Ethos Capital. The proposed transfer raises serious concerns that cannot be overlooked.

The letter continues slamming ICANN:

There is mounting concern that ICANN is no longer responsive to the needs of its stakeholders.

And it ends with

This office will continue to evaluate this matter, and will take whatever action necessary to protect Californians and the nonprofit community.

While reading the document, the main reason for concern for the AG seems to be the $300 million loan that PIR has taken out for the purchase and maintenance of its operation. This loan is due in five years and the AG sees no way they can pay it back in the current economic climate, because after the transfer PIR will no longer be in a tax-free regime as it is now, and it also has to pay a rate of return to the investors.

Taking a large bag of popcorn to watch how this fight develops...

[tangor]

There's a lot of moving parts in play ... and some of them only recently got involved. Time will tell how this plays out.

(I suspect goobermint will have a bigger voice in the outcome.)

[martinibuster]

Some of the parties involved at PIR and in ETHOS are former executives at ICANN.

[tangor]

Keeps it in the family, eh?

The potential harm needs to be investigated... if it could happen to org can you imagine the carnage it it happened to com?