Web-Hosting Company’s Pickup a Sticky Situation

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Media Temple, a Culver City Web-hosting company that’s a favored choice among professional Web designers looking for a specialized high-end provider, has been acquired by Scottsdale, Ariz.’s GoDaddy, the biggest player in the game.

Executives at the two companies said the transaction, which was announced last week, will allow Media Temple to operate independently underneath GoDaddy. Terms of the deal were not released.

As GoDaddy Chief Executive Blake Irving explained, buying Media Temple allows his company to gain a foothold – and boost its reputation – among higher-end users.

“GoDaddy has not been known as a servicer of those customers in a good way. It’s something that we know we need to be much better at,” he said. “It was incredibly clear to us that Media Temple is incredibly loved by this community.”

For many developers, it’s a love that doesn’t transfer over to GoDaddy.

That company has been stuck with a reputation for poor customer service and being opaque about charging fees. Then there’s GoDaddy’s steamy and provocative Super Bowl commercials, which are regular points of controversy.

When news initially broke that Media Temple was going to be part of GoDaddy, some Web professionals took to Twitter to express their unease. Many promised to leave Media Temple, even with the assurance that it would operate independently.

Daniel Sofer, a Web designer who said he hosts about 100 different sites on Media Temple, has purchased domain names with GoDaddy in the past, but “because of all their antics, I’ve been moving my domains elsewhere.”

Sofer isn’t sure if he’s done with Media Temple now that it’s under new ownership, but he’s seriously considering the possibility.

Media Temple, which was launched in 1998, has grown to 225 employees and has corporate clients such as Nordstrom, Starbucks and the Wall Street Journal.

Co-founder Demian Sellfors had said previously that he was looking for an exit for his 15-year-old company.

This arrangement is ideal, he said last week, because it allows the company to remain autonomous but have a deeper bank account to draw from.

“The GoDaddy platform gives us this bright light and bigger stage to stand on,” said Sellfors, who will remain with the company as an adviser. “It allows us to take what we do to a bigger level.”

GoDaddy has been on an acquisition spree, picking up six other Web hosting providers in the last year and a half. The company has 12 million customers; Media Temple, which focuses on a tech-savvy creative community, has 125,000.

Neither Sellfors nor Media Temple President Russell Reeder are too concerned about outcry among Web developers over the acquisition. GoDaddy’s Irving, recently installed as chief executive, has been working to shore up the company’s services and clean up its image.

It’s something Reeder hopes Media Temple customers consider before making any big changes.

“Blake’s changed the culture and the management team and the marketing and the brand,” he said. “We can validate this from a behind-the-scenes point of view; we’re very excited to be part of the team.”

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