The $1.1bn acquisition of the Public Interest Registry, which oversees the .org domain, by private equity group Ethos Capital, has once again been delayed, following a call from the California attorney general to stop it.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), the non-profit in charge of the domain-name system which has been reviewing the deal, has agreed to an extension with PIR to May 4, at which time it will decide if it will provide or withhold its consent. The deal was initially announced in November.