Telecom Italia to Buy AOL Germany for $870 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 18, 2006 - 1:36pm.

Dulles, Va. - Continuing to shift AOL away from its traditional Internet access model, parent Time Warner said that it has agreed to sell its AOL Germany unit to Telecom Italia for $870 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in four to six months. AOL Germany has operated as an Internet service provider (ISP) for over 10 years, offering both narrowband and broadband Internet access. As of June, the company had 1.1 million broadband and 1.3 million dial-up subscribers. Dick Parsons, the chairman and CEO of Time Warner, said that the deal "advances AOL's worldwide transition from a business built primarily on providing Internet access to an advertising-supported business model." As part of the deal, AOL will provide co-branded audience services and content on a joint web portal for all of Telecom Italia's residential Internet access subscribers in Germany, and will handle all online advertising sales.
http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1535778,00.html