AOL

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AOL to shed 900 jobs, beef up content

AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong said Thursday that the company is cutting 200 jobs in the U.S. and 700 in India after its $315 million purchase of the Huffington Post.

Armstrong, speaking at the Bloomberg Media Summit in New York City, lamented the cuts but said AOL is “much more healthy” than it was a few years ago. Get the full story »

AOL to acquire Huffington Post for $300M

The Huffington Post this morning. (Reuters)

AOL Inc. will buy Arianna Huffington’s influential website for $315 million, looking to the high-profile liberal pundit to rescue it from the dustbin of Internet history.

The move comes at a hefty premium. AOL is estimated to pay 32 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the Huffington Post, said Benchmark Co analyst Clayton Moran.

Similar content deals, such as Hellman & Friedman’s acquisition of Internet Brands in September 2010, typically go for eight to 12 times earnings, said Moran. Get the full story »

Technical glitch hits some AOL e-mail accounts

Some AOL Inc. customers have suffered problems with their e-mail accounts because of a technical glitch at the company, according to an AOL spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman said AOL’s routine maintenance process caused less than 4 percent of its customers to lose access Monday to some of the messages in their inboxes, and the company is working to fix the problem. Get the full story »

Mansueto joins billionaires giving away half of wealth

Joe and Rika Mansueto at their home in Chicago on May 9, 2008. (Handout)

Another 17 U.S. billionaires, including Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz as well as Morningstar’s Joe Mansueto, have pledged to give away at least half their fortunes in a philanthropic campaign led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

A total of 57 billionaires now have joined The Giving Pledge, which was launched by Microsoft founder Gates and investor Buffett in June. The campaign announced the new pledges in a statement late Wednesday.

Gates, his wife Melinda, and Buffett have asked U.S. billionaires to give away at least half their wealth during their lifetime or after their death, and to publicly state their intention with a letter explaining their decision. Get the full story »

AOL mulls breakup, then merger with Yahoo

AOL Inc., undergoing a radical transformation into the king of content on the Internet, is actively exploring a breakup involving a complicated series of transactions that may lead to a merger with Yahoo Inc., sources close to the plans told Reuters.

The plans are still in the exploratory stage and Yahoo has not been contacted, the sources said. The plans are also fraught with complications involving myriad moving pieces. Get the full story »

Report: AOL hires financial adviser for Yahoo pursuit

AOL Inc. has hired financial advisers to look into strategic options that could include a combination with Yahoo Inc., according to a newspaper report.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that AOL’s advisers have been presenting various scenarios to the company about possible ways the two could combine operations. It cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. Get the full story »

Investment sales boost still struggling AOL in 3Q

AOL Inc.’s earnings more than doubled in the third quarter thanks to gains on investments it sold, yet revenue declined sharply as online ad sales fell and its dial-up Internet access business continued to falter.

Nonetheless, the company’s results seemed to give investors some reassurance that AOL is on the right track in its plans to turn its business around. Shares rose more than 6 percent in afternoon trading. Get the full story »

AOL, firms mull bid for Yahoo

AOL Inc. and several private equity firms are exploring the possibility of buying Yahoo Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

Shares of Yahoo jumped more than 9 percent on Thursday on the news, fueled by the prospect that the Internet company could be the target of a buyout by private equity firms, possibly in conjunction with another media company like AOL or News Corp. Get the full story »

AOL to acquire popular tech blog TechCrunch

AOL Inc. said it would acquire the popular technology blog and network TechCrunch as it tries to remake itself into a Web entertainment and news powerhouse. Get the full story »

Google, AOL extend Web search pact

Google Inc. and AOL Inc. have agreed to extend their search partnership for five years and expanded their pact into mobile search and online video, two areas expected to grow as the media business transitions to digital communications.

The deal helps Google protect its dominant share of the fast-growing Web search business from smaller competitors,  including Microsoft Corp.  and IAC/InteractiveCorp.  Get the full story »

TV critic leaves Tribune for AOL Television

Maureen Ryan, a 13-year veteran of the Chicago Tribune and its television critic, announced Friday that she has left the newspaper to join AOL Television as its TV critic.

Before joining the Tribune, she worked for the magazines Chicago Enterprise and Cinescape, and she freelanced for Crain’s Chicago Business, RollingStone.com, the Chicago Reader, NewCity, Request and other publications.