INIT News: October 07, 1999 08:42
Interliant Continues European Expansion with @viso Joint Venture
Joint Venture to Provide Capital, Infrastructure and Support for Interliant's European Expansion
PURCHASE, N.Y., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move to continue its aggressive expansion into the European community, Interliant, Inc. (Nasdaq: INIT), a leading Application Service Provider (ASP)and
Web hosting company, announced it has signed a letter of intent to enter into a joint venture agreement with European technology incubator @viso ("Atviso"). SOFTBANK Corp., a global Internet market leader, and European communications giant Vivendi established @viso to facilitate the entry of U.S. Internet businesses into continental Europe. As part of the Interliant agreement, @viso will invest capital in Interliant's European operations, as well as provide infrastructure in France and support services to help the company take a leadership position in Europe's application and Web hosting market.
"This joint venture demonstrates Interliant's commitment to becoming Europe's predominant ASP and Web hosting provider and serves as the cornerstone for our continued growth and expansion in the European market," said Bradley Feld, co-chairman, Interliant. "Ongoing support from industry heavyweights like SOFTBANK and Vivendi will open doors for us in all areas of the European hosting market while helping us ramp-up our operations, customer base and sales organization through the partnership with @viso."
Interliant will leverage the @viso joint venture to build stronger ties with other SOFTBANK and Vivendi companies, including Cegetel, France's leading private telecommunications company and other @viso
companies.
"Interliant's strong U.S. presence and depth of experience in the ASP and Web hosting markets, combined with the resources available through @viso, will help Interliant solidify its position in the
European Internet market," said Pierre Liautaud, @viso's CEO.
Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SOFTBANK Corp., added, "Interliant has been a consistent leader in the Web-based applications revolution. We are convinced that Interliant's cutting-edge technology, key
strategic partnerships and high standards for quality and service will make it a European market leader."
As part of the joint venture, @viso will provide Interliant with a full set of market access services in Europe, including identification of local competitors and potential partners, in order to accelerate Interliant's position as a leading ASP and Web hosting provider in Europe. @viso will act as an incubator, providing capital, infrastructure and local support services, including strategic marketing, technical facilities and personnel resources.
About @viso
Formed in July of this year, @viso (Atviso) is a joint venture between Vivendi and SOFTBANK, aimed at helping U.S. Internet companies gain rapid market entry into continental Europe. Its regional expertise and toolboxes of services -- including state-of-the-art technical facilities and marketing, legal, PR and
recruitment services -- help businesses expand into new territory. Additional information about @viso can be found at www.atviso.com
About Vivendi
With net sales of 39 billion euros (estimated for 1999) and 260,000 employees in over 100 countries, Vivendi is the world leader in Environmental Services and a major player in communications. Vivendi
owns Cegetel, the largest French private telecommunications operator, Europe's leading pay- television company Canal+, and the publishing giant Havas.
About SOFTBANK Corp.
SOFTBANK Corp. has emerged as one of the world's leading Internet market forces. Through its ownership positions in more than 100 Internet companies and its unique Internet-zaibatsu management
concept, it is able to create market synergies for its family of companies on a global scale. In Japan its activities encompass distribution, publishing, Internet media platforms, a broad range of e-commerce businesses, and joint ventures with companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Yahoo!, Nasdaq and many other market leaders. In the U.S., SOFTBANK is the largest shareholder in leading Internet companies such as Yahoo!, E*TRADE and ZDNet, and in Europe has established Internet joint ventures with News Corp. and Vivendi. |
