[London, ENGLAND] Strengthening in particular their
European operations at a stroke, Hoover’s and
GlobalNetFinancial.com Monday forged a strategic agreement for international
content-sharing and distribution.
Online business information provider Hoover’s will
work with financial portal operator GlobalNetFinancial.com,
creating what appears to be an excellent fit between the
two companies.
Having last week opened four new sites in France, Germany,
Italy and Spain, Hoover’s Online Europe now has a presence
across the continent. For its part, GlobalNetFinancial.com
has an extensive network of dot-com European portals,
including UK-iNvest, Deutscher-Finanzmarkt, Italia-iNvest,
Neder-iNvest, Danmark-iNvest, France-iNvest, Norge-iNvest,
Espana-iNvest, Ibero-iNvest, and Sverige-Finans.com.
Patrick Spain, Hoover’s chief executive, said the alliance
would extend and solidify the Hoover’s brand to a growing
European online audience. It would not only work through
GlobalNet’s portals but also through the strategic
relationships that GlobalNet has established with top
European ISPs like Freeserve and World Online.
Although originated in the United States, GlobalNet is
stronger in Europe where it became the finance portal of
choice on the highly successful U.K. ISP Freeserve which
now has over two million members.
Recently, GlobalNetFinancial made a separate agreement
with BT Europe to deliver financial news and e-finance
services via Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) to a
network of 22 million mobile phone users.
Referring to the latest deal with Hoover’s, GlobalNet’s
Chief Operating Officer Ron Goldie commented that it
would leverage the revenue-generating potential for
GlobalNet’s transactional platforms and further build
the brand in the U.S.
Gehan Talwatte, managing director for Hoover’s Online
Europe, said strong partnerships like this one will be
key to Hoover’s success in the U.K. and throughout
Europe.
“Partnering with GlobalNet will help us to quickly reach
a critical mass of business users in Europe, just as
Hoover’s Online already does in the U.S.,” said Talwatte.
Under the terms of the agreement, content from GlobalNet’s
UK-Wire and UK Today will be integrated within Hoover’s
Online properties, as will North American content from
America-iNvest, On the Move, and Word on the Web.
Hoover’s Company Capsules and IPO Capsules, containing
corporate details, will be integrated within GlobalNet Web
properties.
Whether Hoover’s and GlobalNet move closer together
towards further integration as a result of Monday’s
agreement remains to be seen.
