Com Laude, which supplies internet domain names to many of the world’s biggest businesses and is owned by the London-based private equity firm PX3 Partners, has announced that it has purchased domain name consultancy FairWinds Partners (“FairWinds”) in anticipation of what it describes as “the biggest change to the internet since 2012.”
With its headquarters located in London, UK, Com Laude is a top consultancy for acquiring dotBrand top-level domains (“TLDs”) for numerous top brands worldwide.
It is a tech-enabled business services provider that offers big businesses a safe online brand presence, monitors digital brand infringement, and manages internet domain name portfolios.
Com Laude and FairWinds offerings
Com Laude offers mission-critical internet domain name services to many of the world’s most well-known brands.
These services are necessary to operate their infrastructure and online presence seamlessly. The business has a global presence with offices in Asia, Europe, and North America.
FairWinds, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has a history of managing brands’ domain name portfolios, spotting digital brand infringements, and securing dotBrand TLDs for American companies.
Businesses use dotBrand TLDs to establish a reliable online presence. Among many others, these include .sky (https://skygroup.sky/) and .nike (https://swoosh.nike/).
In the 2012 round, leading brands in all significant business sectors acquired dotbrand TLDS to future-proof their digital identities and improve their audiences’ safety, trust, and confidence when interacting online.
In April 2026, fourteen years after the initial dotBrand TLD applications were accepted in 2012, internet regulator ICANN will open a three-month window for businesses to acquire and run their own dotBrand TLDs.
A dotBrand TLD is solely under the brand owner’s control and offers a potent means of enhancing, managing, and safeguarding their online presence, unlike a generic TLD, such as .com, which has no consumer guarantees and is open to anyone to register.
Com Laude is working with clients to acquire hundreds of TLDs
Com Laude is working with clients to help them acquire hundreds of TLDs in the 2026 round after obtaining over 120 TLDs for well-known brands during the 2012 TLD application period.
According to CEO Benjamin Crawford, the company’s efforts to meet the increasing demand for dotBrands and other new TLDs will be accelerated by bringing in Fairwinds’ professional firepower. In the 2012 round, Fairwinds processed 133 applications from blue-chip clients.
With the purchase of FairWinds, Com Laude combines two of the most reputable brands in the corporate domain name management and strategy. Josh Bourne, who started FairWinds in 2006, is still a director on the board.
Com Laude’s and FairWinds’ comments
Benjamin Crawford, CEO of Com Laude, commented: “We’re excited to expand our capacity to deliver for companies worldwide in the run-up to the biggest event in the internet domain names for 14 years. Adding FairWinds to our group creates a platform that is even better placed to deliver for customers, backed by broad and deep experience from the 2012 round, making us a compelling choice for achieving dotBrand TLD success for our customers, from the most established brands to the emerging brands of the future. FairWinds also brings other valued capabilities in internet domain name portfolio strategy and online brand protection, which its customers hugely value.”
Josh Bourne, Founder and Director of FairWinds, remarked: “With the impending dotBrand TLD expansion, this is the perfect moment for FairWinds to join forces with an outstanding operator with a mission to take internet domain name management to the next level and beyond. We look forward to working with Benjamin and the Com Laude team to help deliver great customer results.”
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