If Enhancement
of Diversity is to be an important criteria in selecting the operator of the new
gTLD registries, I belive that ICANN should consider the issue of ultimate beneficial
ownership of the bidding entity, rather than the proposed location of its head office
(as appears to have been used in the first stage selection process). Then the
real issue is how widely spread the benefits of registry ownership will be.
In the case of applications for the .biz gTLD, ICANN's staff seem to have decided
that the JV Team LLC is essentially an American outfit with a small Australian partner.
This view ignores the fact that Melbourne IT has one of the most diverse shareholder
bases of any company engaged in the registry business. Melbourne IT's filings
with the Australian Securities Commission show 4515 shareholders as of February 25.
Furthermore the filings show that more than 60 percent of the company's issued capital
is owned by Australian, American, European and Asian pension fund managers who collectively
represent millions of small investors and retirees around the globe. The only major
shareholder of note (with 15 per cent of the shares) is Melbourne University, a public
institution. Management owns little of the company.
If diversity
is judged by beneficial ownership (rather than the head office of the bidding entity)
then the JV Team LLC bid would enhance diversity of ownership as much as, or more
than, any of the bid teams.(Disclosure. The author is a small Melbourne IT shareholder)
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