The deal between Infoseek Corp and Walt Disney Co has now closed, which involved Disney taking a 43% stake in Infoseek in exchange for Disney’s controlling interest in its Starwave web development unit and $70m in cash. The two are due to launch the initial version of the new Go Network portal site any day now, combining content from ABCnews.com, Disney, Infoseek and Starwave, with its full launch incorporating all the multimedia bells and whistles slated for March. Infoseek did not get back to us to give any clearer indication of the timeframe for Go’s initial launch, which is still expected this month. Disney has the option to acquire a majority stake in Infoseek, which has now reformed as a Delaware holding company with two subsidiaries: Infoseek in Sunnyvale and Starwave in Bellevue, Washington. Infoseek has said previously that the deal will push back its profitability target to 2002.
