The trio will each take a one-third stake in the joint venture company, to be renamed AOL7, and will have equal representation on the Board of the new entity which will continue to market the online service under the AOL brand
"AOL in Australia has experienced rapid growth over the past eighteen months and with today's announcement, we are well positioned to take the business to the next level of success," Michael Lynton, president of AOL International, said in a statement.
-With our shared commitment to meeting the needs of consumers, this expanded partnership with Seven Network and AAPT will define the best online experience for Australian consumers. Our combined assets, including the AOL brand, representing the most popular online service in the world, are unrivalled in the Australian market."
Seven Network executive chairman Kerry Stokes said the agreement places AOL7 at -the forefront of new communications in Australia" and AAPT chief operating officer David Bedford said the expanded JV is in -a strong position to continue to lead the market development for online services in Australia".
Amanda Lacaze, who will take the helm of AOL7 as chief executive office, said: "We are focused on meeting and exceeding consumers' expectations in the online world. The recent launch of AOL's newest software in Australia, AOL 7.0, makes it even easier for members to access the great content and features of the AOL service. The addition of Seven's strengths will help to make the online experience even more valuable for AOL members."
What an unusual menage-a-trois! If AOL were as successful in Australia as they claim to be, why are they taking on JV partners?
And if they need to choose JV partners at all, why partner with 7 (which has lost millions of dollars on the Net to date) or AAPT (which is constantly rumoured to be struggling in its mainstream business, let alone on the Net)
This story has a strong smell of snake oil about it, don't you think? American snake-oil at that...