AOL and Yahoo reported to be in merger talks

[Pardus]

Source

By Brett Pulley and Douglas MacMillan - Sep 9, 2011 4:47 PM ET

AOL Inc. (AOL) Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong is talking with advisers to Yahoo! Inc. to gauge its interest in combining the companies after the ouster of CEO Carol Bartz, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Armstrong is discussing options for a combination aimed at strengthening the two Internet companies, said the people, who wouldn’t be identified because the talks aren’t public. He has talked with private equity firms and investment bankers from Allen & Co. working with Yahoo, one person said.

Armstrong had been interested in a merger with Yahoo last year and was rebuffed while Bartz was at the helm, one person said. Her departure prompted him to reconsider the option, and, under one scenario now being considered, Yahoo would acquire AOL and Armstrong would become CEO of the combined company, the person said.

Yahoo is unlikely to be interested in a deal for AOL at this time given the company’s losses and declining revenue, according to one person familiar with the matter. AOL’s market value is about $1.6 billion, while Yahoo’s is about $18.2 billion.

Graham James, a spokesman for AOL, and Kim Rubey, spokeswoman for Yahoo, declined to comment.

AOL and Yahoo have been struggling to compete against Internet companies such as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Facebook Inc. AOL has lost almost $800 million since it was spun off from Time Warner Inc. (TWX) in 2009. The Internet pioneer has struggled to make money from online advertising as its profitable dial-up Internet access business declines. AOL is also using Allen & Co. to consider its strategic options.

 

[Ns1]

the blind leading the blind

 

[Matthiasa]

Hmm one failing company merging with another one that is failing...
Yup makes total sense.

 

[Newbian]

So they are talking about how to die off faster?

 

[PottedMeat]

what exactly does AOL do now?

 

[gothamhunter]

what exactly does AOL do now?

They're the parent company to quite a few popular websites, such as Engadget.com and Joystiq.com, as well as their children sites (massively.joystiq.com, wow.joystiq.com, etc...)

 

[Nik]

So they are talking about how to die off faster?

Rofl

AOL is owned by Ted Turner. No way in hell it's going anywhere any time soon. Even if Ted, himself, is the only subscriber (which probably isn't too far from the truth now), AOL will still exist.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

The two are reportedly in talks to build a time machine so they can return to a period where they were actually relevant.

 

[thegimp03]

Two losers combining to make a super loser.

 

[Ns1]

Rofl

AOL is owned by Ted Turner.

last time I checked, AOL was a public company.

 

[Numenorean]

So two big piles of shit are looking to merge into one massive pile of shit?

 

[Newbian]

Two losers combining to make a super loser.

Yahoo! AOL! Myspace!

By your powers combined, I am Captain Bankrupt.

 

[xanis]

Do two fails make a success? :hmm:

 

[Ns1]

Yahoo! AOL! Myspace!

By your powers combined, I am Captain Bankrupt.

 

[sactoking]

Yahoo! as a search engine is pretty muck kaput, but they do have some value. For instance, their sports reporting arm is one of the best in the business.

OTOH, why anyone would want to own/merge/team with AOL is complete mystery.

 

[Thump553]

I wasn't aware that either was still in business. What do they do these days?

 

[Malak]

Can I call them yahols now?

 

[Lifted]

Wait, isn't Microsoft purchasing Yahoo for $45 Billion? This must mean that they get AOL for free.

Score!

 

[Exterous]

Wait, isn't Microsoft purchasing Yahoo for $45 Billion? This must mean that they get AOL for free.

Score!

Heh - its like when they used to bundle AOL disks with computers. Hopefully they'll just throw AOL in the trash like so many AOL dialup service setup disks

 

[Nik]

last time I checked, AOL was a public company.

Publicly traded stocks != not controlled by Ted Turner (who is a terrible human being)

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Google will still crush them beneath their mighty heel.

 

[Ns1]

Publicly traded stocks != not controlled by Ted Turner (who is a terrible human being)

WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT

Timothy Armstrong
40 2009 Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer
Arthur Minson
40 2010 Chief Financial Officer and Administrative Officer, Executive Vice President
Alexander Gounares
38 2010 Chief Technology Officer, Executive Vice President
Julie Jacobs
44 2010 Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
Matthew Kelpy
38 2011 Chief Accounting Officer, Controller
Richard Dalzell
53 2009 Independent Director
Karen Dykstra
52 2009 Independent Director
Alberto Ibarguen
67 2011 Independent Director
Susan Lyne
60 2009 Independent Director
Patricia Mitchell
68 2009 Independent Director
Fredric Reynolds
60 2009 Independent Director
James Stengel
55 2009 Independent Director

404 current ted turner relationship not found

 

[Squisher]

What is the demographic of AOLers? 60+ years olds running 300 MHz computers and using dialup? Now there's a fruitful slice of the world economy. I'm going to run out and put all my money into checkers and Parcheesi.

 

[JS80]

Maybe RIMM can join for 3rd fail

 

[GTaudiophile]

Two wrongs don't make a right.