Verizon Buying AOL for $4.4B

[mvcg66b3r]

Looking to amp up its mobile video and over-the-top video strategy, Verizon Communications said it has inked a deal to acquire AOL Inc. for $4.4 billion.

Verizon, which has agreed to buy AOL for $50 per share, said the deal will further its LTE-powered wireless video and OTT efforts and expand its move into digital content and advertising. Tim Armstrong, AOL chairman and CEO, will continue to lead AOL operations after closing, the companies said.

http://www.multichannel.com/news/technology/verizon-buying-aol-44b/390548

 

[TheBigA]

This would have been a much bigger story, and a much more important purchase, 15 years ago. Then again, the price would have been higher too.

Personally I don't see what Verizon is getting besides a heritage name.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

It was 15 years ago that AOL TimeWarner was created. I think that deal was actually a good idea, if they could have paid a tenth of the actual purchase price and had better executive leadership.

I think this deal makes sense too as more and more content distributors (Comcast, AT&T, TWC) move into content creation.

 

[TheBigA]

I think this deal makes sense too as more and more content distributors (Comcast, AT&T, TWC) move into content creation.

It does however push some pretty scary legal boundaries.

 

[umfan]

AOL owns a lot of content (Moviefone, MapQuest) and is profitable. Negotiating this kind of premium sort of redeems the CEO who paid more than $300M for the Huffington Post when he likely could've of gotten it for less than a tenth of that.