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Yahoo devours del.icio.us, joins up with Seven Network

In its latest acquisition of a social networking service, Internet powerhouse Yahoo Inc on Friday devoured del.icio.us Inc., a startup that enables people to more easily compile and share their favorite content on the Web.

The Sunnyvale-based company didn't disclose how much it paid for New York-based del.icio.us because the purchase price wasn't large enough to have a significant impact on its finances.

Del.icio.us will continue to run its own Web site, which allows users to create a personal account so they can create a page devoted to their favorite online articles, music and reviews.

The material can be shared with others simply by sending along the Web link. The content also can be identified with labels, or "tags," to make it simpler to find.

More than 300,000 users have signed up for the service since del.icio.us' inception two years ago, founder Joshua Schachter said on Friday.

Schachter intends to work at Yahoo's Sunnyvale headquarters, but del.icio.us' other eight employees will be scattered around the US.

Meanwhile Yahoo has joined forces with Seven Network Ltd of Australia, the companies announced on Friday.

Seven Network and Yahoo will be equal partners in a holding company called Yahoo! Australia and New Zealand, according to a written release.

"We are building on our strengths to create a broad media company focused on the delivery of relevant content to all Australians across a number of delivery platforms," Seven chairman Kerry Stokes said in the release.

The firms will combine their online teams and expect to launch "an exciting online presence" late next month to coincide with Seven's coverage of the Australian Open and the winter Olympic Games in Italy.

Yahoo, based in Silicon Valley, will bring Internet search portal power to the partnership while Seven contributes magazine and television content along with online capabilities, according to the companies.

"Yahoo and Seven have very complementary businesses and brands, and we see this as a tremendous opportunity to build a leadership position in Australia," Yahoo chairman Terry Semel said in a release.

"Together, I believe we can deliver the most engaging and innovative rich media experience for Australian audiences and advertisers," Senel said.

As part of the deal, Seven Network will contribute US$7.52 million in investment capital, promote the enterprise, and give Yahoo a 33 percent stake in mobile solutions provider m.Net Corporation Ltd, the release said.
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