About
Who Frank is
Frank Pavilonis is Head of Business Development at Acquiry. He works with acquirers, founders and operators on introductions and mandate conversations spanning businesses and domain-adjacent assets.
His career has covered registry business development, registrar channel work, aftermarket brokerage and portfolio operations at organisations including Uniregistry, Dominion Enterprises and CentralNic (now Team Internet), as well as his own ventures in domain acquisition and consulting.
At Acquiry he applies that network and transaction experience to buy-side and sell-side M&A. For introductions or mandate discussions, email frank@acquiry.com or use Acquiry’s contact page (opens in a new tab).
Background
From financial brokerage to digital assets
Before domains and digital assets, Frank worked in financial markets, including commodities brokerage roles in Chicago and earlier mortgage brokerage. That grounding in negotiation, market structure and client relationships shaped how he approaches transactions today.
From the mid-2010s he moved into the domain ecosystem: registrar growth, registry business development, aftermarket products and portfolio operations. That path sits underneath his Acquiry work: understanding how digital inventory, channels and counterparties actually move.
- Financial markets
Brokerage foundation
Senior roles in commodities and mortgage brokerage in Chicago: client relationships, negotiation and market execution.
- Domain industry
Registry, registrar and aftermarket
Leadership and consulting work spanning registrar sales, registry business development, channel partnerships and aftermarket platforms.
- Advisory
Acquiry
Joined Acquiry as Head of Business Development to connect business and domain-market counterparties into structured M&A processes.
Career
Selected timeline
From Chicago brokerage floors to registry, registrar and aftermarket leadership, and now M&A business development at Acquiry.
- Jul 2025 – Present
Head of Business Development, Acquiry
Business development for M&A mandates across gaming, blockchain, SaaS, eCommerce, domain and other verticals; introductions and counterparty engagement for buy-side and sell-side work.
- 2023 – Present
GFV Media / Greenfield Ventures
Domain acquisition and consulting services for brands, investors and professional advisers; business-development consultancy in the domain industry.
- 2019 – 2023
CentralNic plc (now Team Internet)
Aftermarket and consulting engagement across registry and registrar clients; domain portfolio operations and aftermarket programmes.
- 2014 – 2020
Uniregistry and Dominion Enterprises
Registrar sales growth, registry business development, channel partnerships and aftermarket product launch work; registry business-model restructuring at Dominion Registry.
- Earlier
Financial brokerage, Chicago
Commodities brokerage and mortgage brokerage roles preceding the move into domain and digital-asset markets.
The role
What Frank focuses on at Acquiry
Day to day the work is practical: clarifying what a buyer or seller wants, opening the right conversations, qualifying counterparties, and handing off into Acquiry’s structured mandate process. For how mandates run end to end, see How We Work (opens in a new tab), Acquisitions and Exits.
Mandate conversations
First-contact clarity on criteria, sector fit and process expectations before wider market engagement.
Counterparty introductions
Opening relationships across business operators, domain-market participants and strategic acquirers.
Domain-adjacent deal flow
Situations where domain portfolios, aftermarket inventory or registry/registrar context sits next to a business sale or acquisition.
Channel and network mapping
Using registrar, registry and aftermarket relationships to identify who can actually transact, not only who is visible online.
Cross-border awareness
Practical attention to settlement, escrow and clearing issues when counterparties sit in different jurisdictions. See his research below.
Handoff into process
Moving qualified interest into Acquiry’s valuation, structure and execution workflow with the transaction team.
Principles
How the work is approached
Confidential first contact
Information control protects both sides while a conversation is still formative.
Criteria before outreach
Vague briefs produce weak pipelines; mandate definition comes first.
Relationship-led sourcing
Many relevant counterparties are reached through existing industry relationships, not public listings alone.
Asset quality over noise
Channel dependency, transferability and counterparty capacity matter as much as a headline ask.
Clear handoffs
Business development opens doors; structured advisory process owns valuation, documentation and close.
No invented claims
Client identities and private consideration figures stay off public pages.
Markets
Where conversations concentrate
Verticals Frank most often discusses in an Acquiry context. Each opens the firm’s dedicated sector or practice page. Not on the list? Any sector, any market: bring it to us anyway.
Gaming and iGaming
Operators, affiliates and related assets where licence quality, jurisdiction and channel economics shape buyer pools.
(opens in a new tab)Blockchain and digital assets
Infrastructure and related businesses where regulatory posture and strategic rationale have to be explicit.
(opens in a new tab)SaaS and software
Recurring-revenue businesses where retention, concentration and product defensibility drive underwriting.
(opens in a new tab)Fintech and payments
Payment and financial-technology businesses where licensing and capital structure shape transferability.
(opens in a new tab)Media and content
Audience and content businesses where distribution ownership and platform dependency dominate diligence.
(opens in a new tab)Domains and digital inventory
Domain portfolios and website acquisitions adjacent to broader business M&A.
(opens in a new tab)
Writing
Research by Frank
Published Acquiry research authored by Frank Pavilonis.
- Valuation
Empirical Studies on the Discount for Lack of Marketability (DLOM)
Restricted stock and pre-IPO evidence that underpins marketability discounts in private company valuation.
October 2023 (opens in a new tab) - Infrastructure
Cross-Border M&A Clearing Infrastructure
MAIC frameworks, trust accounts and securities handling in international transactions.
February 2024 (opens in a new tab) - Hub
All Acquiry research
Firm research library: market reports, frameworks and deal analysis.
Research Hub (opens in a new tab)
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frank Pavilonis
Who is Frank Pavilonis?
Frank Pavilonis is Head of Business Development at Acquiry, the M&A firm built around buy-side acquisition origination. Based in Palm Beach, Florida, he connects acquirers, founders and operators across gaming, blockchain, SaaS, media, fintech and domain markets, drawing on more than a decade in the domain industry and an earlier career in financial brokerage.
What does Frank Pavilonis do at Acquiry?
Frank opens and qualifies mandate conversations. He clarifies what a buyer or seller wants, introduces the right counterparties through his industry network, and hands qualified interest into Acquiry’s structured mandate process for acquisitions, exits and capital.
What is Frank Pavilonis’s background?
Frank began in financial markets with commodities and mortgage brokerage roles in Chicago. From the mid-2010s he worked across the domain ecosystem at Uniregistry, Dominion Enterprises and CentralNic (now Team Internet), covering registrar sales, registry business development and aftermarket programmes. He also leads GFV Media and Greenfield Ventures, a domain acquisition and consulting business.
Which sectors does Frank Pavilonis cover?
Most of his conversations sit in gaming and iGaming, blockchain and digital assets, SaaS and software, fintech and payments, media and content, and domain portfolios. Acquiry works in any sector and any market, so mandates outside that list are welcome too.
What has Frank Pavilonis published?
Frank has authored Acquiry research on empirical studies of the discount for lack of marketability (DLOM) in private company valuation, and on cross-border M&A clearing infrastructure, including trust accounts and securities handling in international transactions.
How can I contact Frank Pavilonis?
Email frank@acquiry.com, connect with him on LinkedIn, or use Acquiry’s contact page to start a mandate conversation.
Contact
Work with Frank
Mandate introductions, digital-asset conversations and business-development enquiries.