26 Mar Delaware company will keep NameProtect here
Madison, Wis. – An executive of the Delaware-based company that has acquired NameProtect says the brand-protection business will remain in Madison.
Mark Calandra, vice president of Corporation Service Co., said the Wilmington company is “absolutely” committed to keeping NameProtect in Madison. NameProtect, a developer of digital brand management services, was sold last week as part of an exit strategy for venture investors.
“That’s absolutely our intent,” Calandra said. “We think this is a positive thing for the employees of both companies.”
Synergistic marriage
The two companies serve the same types of clients, but not with the same types of services.
NameProtect, founded in 1997, employs 74 people and generates $10 million in annual sales with digital brand management services for Fortune 500 companies, law firms, and global business clients. Its data-mining technology enables it to search the Internet 24 hours a day, monitor any incidents of brand abuse, and provide other business intelligence services.
The company’s management team includes: Kevin Rohde, president; Alexander Kasper, chief operating officer and chief financial officer; and Malia Horine, general manager of digital brand services.
Horine said NameProtect will be conducting business as usual with no break in its services, and the company is excited about the potential synergies from the merger of its product lines.
“We’re looking to take NameProtect to another level,” she said.
The privately-held CSC, which acquired NameProtect as part of a competitive bidding process, said the acquisition would combine its own entity management and global domain functions with NameProtect’s brand monitoring tools and trademark expertise. With the growth of the Internet and related fraud, the companies are pitching digital brand management technology designed to protect trademarks and brands.
Trademark and brand-related products would include trademark clearance searches, digital brand monitoring to identify and prioritize brand and logo abuse, and global domain name management and acquisition.
Turning sales channels
The long-standing CSC, established in 1899, offers a clientele of corporations and law firms that can provide NameProtect with new sales channels.
Citing CSC’s private status, Calandra declined to pinpoint the number of clients it has, but he characterized its customer base as “substantial.”
“We see a lot of similarities between the two companies,” he added. “Both are service-focused companies with loyal customer bases.”
Calandra, asked about complaints of current and former NameProtect employees who said employee stock options were cancelled by previous owners, said a comparison of benefit packages shows that CSC offers better benefits “across the board.”
Related stories
• Paul Gibler: Brand protection in the age of customer engagement
• Geoff Bastow: Web-centric entrepreneurs find models that attract investment
• NameProtect releases annual list of top trademarkers
• NameProtect partners with Oregon firm to boost fraud detection