Owner Gary Kremen sold sex.com to Escom in 2006 for $12 million. Unfortunately, Escom couldn't figure out how to make the domain profitable (really?) and had to declare bankruptcy. DOM Partners, a New Jersey lender, was supposed to auction the domain on March 18 at New York law firm Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf but postponed it. Around the same time PETA asked DOM Partners to donate the domain to them so they could use it to educate web users about the benefits of "veggie Viagra."
DOM never responded to PETA's request. In fact, we had heard very little about sex.com between March and now. Reuters reports that papers filed Monday indicate that the auction is over and done with and sex.com has officially been sold. The winning bidder, offering $13 million, is listed as Clover Holdings Ltd.
Clover Holdings has not spoken about what it plans to do with the web address. The bankruptcy court overseeing Escom LLC's affairs has not yet approved the deal. The BBC reports that the court will make that decision on October 27.