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AOL throws 'Net south
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December 15, 1998: 11:19 a.m. ET
Internet company links with Cisneros Group for joint Latin venture
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Bienvenidos! AOL is expanding south of the border.
America Online Inc. (AOL), the world's leading Internet provider, said Tuesday it had formed a 50-50 joint venture with the Cisneros Group of Companies to bring the Dulles, Va.-based AOL to Latin America.
The announcement confirmed earlier reports that AOL was working on a Latin American deal.
Cisneros Group, a Caracas, Venezuela-based media, entertainment and telecommunications company, will make a $100 million initial investment to fund the venture, which will operate local services initially in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and other Latin America markets in the future.
The AOL services will be in Spanish and Portuguese and be accessible to AOL members in the United States and elsewhere around the world.
The joint venture will also be responsible for developing the CompuServe brand in Latin America. AOL, which has 14 million customers, acquired CompuServe last year.
Steve Case, AOL's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement the venture will combine his company's Internet capabilities with the Cisneros Group's Latin American expertise and experience.
Gustavo A. Cisneros, the Cisneros Group's chairman and CEO, said "Latin America is poised to become the next great growth center for the interactive medium. With a population of close to 460 million people sharing common languages and cultural values, the Latin American market presents huge potential for expansion."
Analysts have said that while AOL is the dominant provider of Internet services in the United States and a top player in Europe, Japan and Australia, the company needs to catch up in the emerging Latin American market.
The market has been defined by the dominant local phone companies in each nation staking out early positions in the Internet access arena.
AOL (AOL) was up 2-1/2 to 93-3/4 in morning trading. 
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