(Associated Press via NewsEdge) New Zealand Telecom announced it has formed a joint venture with Yahoo and Australia's Seven Network to beef up content on its Internet portal Xtra.
The carrier, New Zealand's biggest listed company, will have a 49% stake in the joint venture, with Yahoo and Seven holding the remaining 51%.
No financial details were disclosed, but brokers say the deal had the potential to boost New Zealand Telecom's online earnings, given Yahoo's global scale and huge consumer following.
'The Yahoo Xtra joint venture will provide New Zealanders with access to the world's best online services in a localized way,' New Zealand Telecom CEO Theresa Gattung said in a statement.
The joint venture will replace the carrier's existing XtraMSN site, an alliance with Microsoft, which had been due to expire at the end of this year.
Yahoo!Xtra will be launched, with an enhanced range of news, sport, weather and messaging services, around March 1, 2007. Customers will also have access to a range of email, enhanced spam and virus protection services, online photo sharing, localized news and Internet radio.
'This partnership is positive from a tangible earnings basis and will probably deliver benefits' in a year or two, said James Smalley, an adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene.
© 2006 The Associated Press
© 2006 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved