The UK’s Telegraph has this astonishing article in which AOL CEO Jonathan Miller reveals that Time Warner is probably kicking around the idea of selling its still-ailing online service AOL.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Jonathan Miller, chief executive of AOL, admitted that the Time Warner board is already mulling over a break-up of the giant conglomerate. Asked about the possibility of AOL separating from Time Warner, Miller confirmed that the issue is now on the agenda following the sale of the group’s broadband businesses in Europe.
He said: “It’s possible, going forward. It’s not a discussion that Time Warner has a problem with understanding or engaging in. Until we were on this present course, it wasn’t even the right discussion. Now it becomes more interesting.”
Clearly pumping up the purchase prospects for AOL, Miller goes on to say that AOL “would be bought as fast as we could draw up the papers.” Hmmm…I doubt it. Who would buy a dying service that failed to navigate the transition from narrowband to broadband and has been deteriorating ever since?
It’s possible that MSN or Yahoo or some other big Internet giant might pay something for the subscriber lists and the content deals in place (although those contracts would undoubtedly have to be renegotiated). But I doubt if anyone would pay top dollar for AOL.
Like an overpriced and overbuilt house that has been sitting on the market too long, AOL is a white elephant that’s going to be hard to move. Had Time Warner not messed around for so long in trying to improve AOL, it could have undoubtedly made a better sale.
As it is now, AOL will continue to see its sales shrink for the next two years, Miller told German newspaper Die Welt. (Miller’s obviously scoping out AOL’s sale of its European properties). In a bit of a contradiction, Miller told the German paper that a sale of AOL “doesn’t make much sense.”
Cynthia Brumfield at 9:38 AM|Comments(0)
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