IPv4 numbers are the unique identifiers that enable all the services offered on the Internet and powers the infrastructure that supports those services. Regional Internet Registries (“RIRs”), the traditional source for companies to secure IPv4 numbers, are no longer able to fulfill requests for additional numbers. Consequently, registration rights (“rights”) to blocks of these IPv4 numbers (“number blocks”) now have market value.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Agile Broker has identified certain intangible assets, i.e., Internet Protocol version 4 (“IPv4”) number block registration rights, held by the numerous Public Sector entities across the globe.  These rights are no longer being given out, and therefore, a secondary IPv4 number market has emerged – providing value to both the buyer and seller.

TIME IS LIMITED

The market for IPv4 numbers is not permanent. A replacement for IPv4, called IPv6, was created in 1998 and there is currently an on-going global transition to the new protocol. In the United States, for instance, IPv6 readiness is approaching 50%. At some point the value of IPv4 number rights will be $0. We cannot predict when, but it is unarguable that these assets have a limited time to be monetized.