Spending Spree: VeriSign Buys Into New MarketsSpending Spree: VeriSign Buys Into New Markets

VeriSign Inc. has built itself into a diversified services company through acquisitions, starting with the $21 billion purchase of Network Solutions in 2000, which gave the company a dominant position in the Internet domain-name business. A series of acquisitions since then shows the technology markets the company has targeted.

March 2000: Network Solutions (domain name registries) for $21 billion

October 2000: GreatDomains.com (domain-name reselling services) for an undisclosed price

September 2001: Illuminet (signaling services and directory) for $1.2 billion

December 2001: NameEngine and 1GlobalPlace (domain-name management services) for $11 million, and Telenisus (infrastructure services) for $6 million

January 2002: HO Systems (wireless billing services) for $340 million, and .TV (runs the dot-tv registry) for $45 million

October 2003: UNC-Embratel (provides services to wireless carriers in Brazil) for $16 million

December 2003: Guardent (managed security services) for $140 million

May 2004: Jamba (mobile content) for $273 million

December 2004: LightSurf Technologies (multimedia messaging) for $270 million

VeriSign "bought up vendors to be the global gorilla in the Internet market," Forrester Research analyst Laura Koetzle says. "VeriSign always has a reaching-all-over vision of being the trusted third party for all services over the Internet."

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