In a bold bid to regain a foothold in the competitive TLD registration marketplace, register.com today acquired domain name reseller Afternic.com in a straightforward cash and stock deal valued at around $48 million.

With its stock price heading southward since the post-IPO high of $116.00, the Alley-based register.com hammered out a buyout pact with Afternic.com to issue 4.38 million shares and pay $10 million cash. The sum of the transaction is derived from yesterday's closing price of $8.81 per share.

In today's early going, the company's shares were down a shade to $8.75.

Shonna Keogan, a spokesperson for register.com, said the deal is expected to close today. Upon the close of the transaction, Afternic.com will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of register.com.

"We're trying to team up to create a comprehensive domain name marketplace to match our buyers with Afternic's sellers to effectively serve both our customers," Keogan said in an interview this morning. "The more information our customers have, the better off they are. If they have to go to multiple sites to find information on domain names, the more exasperated they'll become," she added.

Keogan said Afternic's co-CEOs will assume management positions in register.com and all employees will be offered positions with this subsidiary. John Whelan, who co-founded Afternic with Chris Maroney, will be managing director of secondary market development and sales. Maroney will manage the secondary market operations.

Afternic, whose services include auctions and appraisals, made headlines recently after a legal skirmish was settled with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Afternic had applied to be accredited as a domain name registrar after its launch last Fall, but ICANN refused on the grounds that Afternic's auctions violated it's standards. The standards include a practice of registering another company's or person's name with the intent to demand "a ransom" from the company or person. The lawsuit was settled after Afternic agreed with ICANN that a separate company, eXtraActive, would be accredited.

Keogan said the deal with Afternic made sense as register.com looks to expand its services into the secondary domain name marketplace. It essentially means register.com can now offer Afternic's 800,000 names in auction. With a marked drop in actual registrations during the second quarter, register.com's standing as the number two registrar (after Network Solutions) has been on shaky ground.

The deal will enable register.com to realize new business opportunities within the domain name resale market, Keogan said. Register.com currently provides individuals, businesses and ISPs with a suite of domain name services, including registration, renewal, management and Web site development.