Playing The '.com' Name Game

For IPO hopefuls, the message is clear: If at first you don't succeed, try adding a ".com" to your company's name.

The latest company to add the hip digital moniker to the end of its name: Investment research provider Multex.com, which tried to go public last summer as Multex Systems but ended up canceling the deal.

Multex.com Chief Financial Officer Phillip Callaghan recognizes the appeal of the ".com" nomenclature on Wall Street but said the decision to change the company's name was all business.

"The '.com' signifies that you're an Internet-based company, and the old name just didn't describe our activities adequately," said Callaghan.

Prior to 1996, Multex was primarily a software development company focused on selling to businesses but has since shifted all of its products to the Internet, Callaghan explained.

Multex certainly has plenty of ".com" company in IPO land. About 10 such entities have filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission to sell stock to the public in the near future.

Among the examples: Autobytel.com, an automobile e-tailer that also failed in an earlier IPO attempt; Miningco.com, which hasn't tried to go public before but was originally known as The Mining Co.; and Internet service provider OneMain.com. And MarketWatch.com, the publisher of this site, went public on Friday.

Those looking for someone to credit, or blame, for the emergence of the ".com" phenomenon should start their search with Amazon.com.

The online bookstore, which went public more than 1 1/2 years ago, has engineered one of the most successful short-term runs in Wall Street history. Accounting for stock splits, Amazon shares are up more than 4,000 percent from its May 1997 offering price.

However, Amazon wasn't immediately followed by a series of ".com" IPOs. Though a couple of already public companies (such as software retailer Egghead) added the ".com" to convey a dramatic transformation in their business models, the trend really didn't catch on in the IPO market until the surprisingly strong performance by Dallas-based Broadcast.com last July.

Since then, the ".com" phenomenon has really picked up speed. In August, new issue Beyond.com (BYND) changed its name from Software.net and has seen its stock price more than double.

Direct marketer Xoom.com (XMCM), even added the ".com" several weeks after filing for its IPO. Xoom Chairman Chris Kitze said the change was made at the request of Zoom Telephonics (ZOOM), which was worried about investor confusion.

And, of course, one can't forget theglobe.com's explosive record-setting debut in November. "We're all guilty of seeking whatever is fashionable," said Gavin Grover, a partner at Morrison & Foerster, the law firm that helped take Xoom and theglobe.com public.

Not surprisingly, ".com" addresses remain far and away the most popular choice among companies looking to go online, saiDoug Wolford, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Network Solutions (NSOL).

Network Solutions has an agreement with the U.S. government to be the exclusive registrar for ".com" addresses through most of next year. The company, which went public in late 1997, dubs itself "the .com people" and even sells ".com" clothing accessories on its Web site.

Of the 3 million addresses, or URLs, registered by Network Solutions, 84 percent of them have used the ".com" suffix.

"It's the best-known phrase in the world," Wolford declared. "When you think about that as a branding tool, it's a very powerful thing."

The Internet address registration process, which Network Solutions has operated in the United States as a virtual monopoly, has come under a great deal of controversy.

It's not quite clear how the system will evolve, but it's likely that numerous competitors to the ".com" suffix will emerge. But Wolford said the ".com" name should always have a strong appeal.

"My own personal belief is that 'dot com' is becoming as essential as having the Inc. at the end of your name," he said.

Even individuals are now registering their names as ".com" Web addresses, said Wolford.

And Wolford should know since he's registered his own URL. Alas, Wolford.com was already taken so he had to settle for wolford.net. And these are the ".com people"?

Written By Darren Chervitz, CBS MarketWatch