Telecom NZ Replaces MSN With Yahoo! as Xtra Partner

Telecom New Zealand has formed a partnership with Yahoo!7, a 50-50 partnership between Yahoo! and Australia’s Seven Network, to provide e-mail, search and other Internet services for the telco’s Xtra online business, The Australian newspaper has reported. The new joint venture company, called Yahoo! Xtra, replaces an existing partnership with MSN, which had been in effect since 2001. Last month, TNZ announced plans to sell its Yellow Pages business, which financial analysts estimate could go for as much as NZ$2.2 billion (US$1.5 billion). “We now have the opportunity to lock in a deal with whoever buys the Yellow Pages,” TNZ operation chief Kevin Kendrick told the paper. “We have had some interest already but there is no update.” Read the full report here.