Time Warner buys back AOL stake

Time Warner now has 100% ownership of AOL after buying back Google’s 5% stake for $283 million.

Google bought the shares in AOL for $1 billion in 2006 but the investment’s value has dropped significantly since then, according to reports.

Time Warner’s purchase values AOL at less than $5.66 billion, excluding a cash distribution of unspecified size, which was included in the total.

Time Warner is now expected to formally change AOL into a separate, public traded company, similar to the way Time Warner spun off its US cable-TV provider into a independent company.

AOL and Time Warner merged in 2001 in a bid to create a new media powerhouse but AOL’s global revenues have since declined.

AOL’s global ad revenue dropped by a fifth year on year in Q1 2009 to $867 million.