Disney doesn't want AOL either
Anyone?
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Disney has joined the list of companies not interested in AOL, as chief executive Robert Iger yesterday put his rejection on the table.
Iger said Disney was considering technology acquistions, but AOL was not one of them.
Time Warner has been looking for a home for the internet access part of AOL since February, while keeping the portal and ad business. But the business has struggled to define itself or provide a clear reason why anyone else would want to buy it.
The only other possible home for AOL would be with Yahoo! - as part of a deal to fend off Microsoft's hostile bid. But after initial talks between the two, it seems discussions have cooled.
Yahoo! was also talking up the chances of a deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - but Murdoch said yesterday he wasn't interested in getting into a bidding war with Microsoft because the software firm has a lot more money than News Corp. ®
COMMENTS
AOL Internet
I assume it's just dial-up they are trying to get rid of this time around?
I only say that because they already off-loaded broadband customers some time ago. I can only assume that at the time no one wanted to take both.
Does anyone think that part of the deal was that it had to be kept branded as AOL? Otherwise TalkTalk would suddenly have a whole load of extra users on the books.
Unwanted AOL
Agreeing to be acquired by AOL is the latest in a series of idiotic mistakes made by Time Warner. Suspect that the reason was due to the change of corporate ownership clause in Levin's contract.
Anyway, AOL has from the start been considered worth more than it was. Never liked it.
Time Inc made mostly illogical decisions up until Henry Luce was no longer around. Some of its ill fated acquisitions included Temple Industries, Inland, and Warner. It has been willing to make equal illogical decisions to get rid of things too. The latest is the plan to get rid of Time Warner Cable, which the company invested billions to acquire the systems and billions to upgrade TWC into one of the most advanced. Now it is getting rid of it to meet the short term interest of short term stockholders.
All of AOL would be worth buying
The only reason Time Warner can't find a buyer is because they are keeping the valuable parts of AOL (The web portal and add revenues) and selling the dial up internet access only - the part that is slowly dying.
Someone else mentioned it - but NetZero AOL's subscriber base of dial up internet customers is a pretty good idea. NetZero manages to make money selling $10 a month dial up internet access and buying AOL's dial up service would give them what - nearly another 20 million subscribers?
I personally still give AOL a few bucks. I like having dial up access for when the damn cable goes out or I'm on vacation in the remote places my family likes going. When the cell phone companies have rolled out 3G nationwide at a reasonable price then I will quit paying both the cable company and AOL.
Tony
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