GeoCities announced today a business
partnership with Yahoo! designed to
increase traffic and expand the company’s Web-based services.
Under the terms of the agreement, GeoCities reports that Yahoo! will
purchase $5 million in equity of the company to be paid for with newly
issued common stock. GeoCities will also become Yahoo!’s premier partner,
offering registered Yahoo! customers personal publishing services.
The community-building company will also be featured throughout select
locations on Yahoo!, and in turn GeoCities users will be able to register
for Yahoo!’s personalized services, including chat, e-mail, message boards,
and My Yahoo!, the navigation guide’s personalized content service.
In addition, GeoCities states that it will receive additional funding from
SOFTBANK Holdings Inc. in the amount of $25 million to enable the company
to further strengthen its presence on the Internet.
“This agreement between GeoCities and Yahoo! aligns two of the top five
sites on the Internet and will vastly increase the amount of traffic and new
homesteaders on GeoCities,” said David Bohnett, founder and CEO of GeoCities.
“Our partnership, along with $25 million in additional funding, will allow us
to expand on our strategy of providing a wealth of personalized services for
our members and visitors along with a high-quality, community-based platform
for our advertisers and sponsors.”
