Reuters, Dow Jones rebrand joint Net venture.

Global news providers Reuters Group and Dow Jones today named their Internet business information joint venture Factiva in a rebranding move to build the profile of the six-month-old company. The venture was set up in May by combining news databases from Reuters, Dow Jones, and the Wall Street Journal with more than 7,000 international business news and information sources in 20 languages. The 50-50 alliance, with joint revenues of more than $225 million in 1998, is aimed at strengthening Reuters and Dow Jones_s position in the rapidly growing market for business intelligence. Factiva plans to launch its Web-based service by next summer. "Our nearly 1 million subscribers worldwide want quick access to relevant and factual global news and business information," said Factiva chief executive Tim Andrews. "Our new name will become synonymous with fast, accurate, and indispensable information,"he said. The venture, originally tagged Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive, does not include the two companies_ consumer Internet products, including the Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition and Reuters digital new media products, nor their competing real-time financial news wires. The new company name was devised by specialist branding consultancy Interbrand, a unit of global advertising and marketing communications company Omnicom Group.