Daily Domainer

In a stunning reversal of fortunes it appears that RegisterFly is getting back on its feet.

Late last night, RegisterFly CEO Kevin Medina hurriedly called a press conference to lay out a plan that he claims will allow him to put the embattled domain registrar back on the map.

The key to the comeback? An unexpected inheritance from a long-lost cousin who had passed away last month. Medina explained:

My cousin was a hard worker in the oil industry and while I am very saddened to hear of his untimely demise, nothing had prepared me for the fact that he left me a multi-million dollar inheritance.

The unexpected windfall, which according to Medina amounts to approximately $41.27 million, could be used to recapitalize RegisterFly and to acquire a stake in several other domain registrars:

RegisterFly lost its ICANN accreditation purely due to ICANN's bad judgement. This inheritance will allow us to buy a majority position in one or several of the larger accredited registrars so we can resume our mission of serving our customers. As a matter of fact, we have already initiated negotiations with GoDaddy, Network Solutions and eNom.

GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons confirmed on his blog that he has in fact been approached by Medina:

Everything is for sale and we named our price. Medina should either pay up or shut up. Why I'm not afraid of retirement: I've been asked to manage the Caribbean's foremost holiday camp.

Near the end of the press conference, Medina explained to baffled reporters that in order to qualify for the inheritance, he had donated $20,000 to an African orphanage and changed his last name to Odelikekle. He closed the conference with the words, "I've got a plane to catch. See you soon." Shortly thereafter he was seen boarding a Nigerian Airways jet headed for Lagos, Nigeria.

Daily Domainer comments

On a day like this one, these developments come as no surprise. Everyone at the recent ICANN meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, knew that "something" was cooking and that Medina was planning an announcement for "early April". Most had expected a declaration of bankruptcy but just like when he regained control of RegisterFly a few weeks ago, Medina is always good for a surprise.