Time Warner Focus Turns to Possible Breakup

Dow sees triple-digit rise

(NEWSER) - Is the panic over on Wall Street? The Dow shot up around 131 points, and the S&P and Nasdaq were up 13.5 and 26.2 as of 9:39am EST. Part of the gain came from Google’s blockbuster acquisition of Motorola , which sent the latter’s stock up 60%, according to the Wall Street Journal . Traders were also watching two other major deals—Time Warner is reportedly close to an agreement to buy Insight Communications, and Bank of America sold its credit card portfolio to Toronto-Dominion Bank. More»

$315M deal leaves unpaid contributors out in cold

(NEWSER) - The Huffington Post's sale to AOL for $315 million —and the estimated $18 million to $100 million Arianna Huffington made on the deal—has left the news site's unpaid contributors wondering where their piece of the pie is, the Daily notes. "My share of the Huffington Post sale, zero dollars, was a little disappointing," tweeted comedian Andy Borowitz. More»

HuffPo gets cash, AOL gets a vision, advertisers get eyeballs

(NEWSER) - AOL's purchase of the Huffington Post is drawing plenty of muted cheers—and a few harsh critiques. Most seem to agree that both sides come out ahead.

• “The content rollup has begun,” writes Michael Wolff at MediaWeek , and new media is becoming old media—"if it’s lucky." Calling the buy an "advertising play" Wolff writes that "Internet content CPMs suck," which means that the business demands more and more traffic, "ever more miserly economies of scale, and a whole new level of clout."

Internet firm could split dial-up, advertising arms

(NEWSER) - As AOL shifts to focus on content, the Internet firm is considering breaking off its dial-up Internet service arm and then merging with Yahoo, insiders tell Reuters . Yahoo hasn’t been contacted about the plan, which echoes a move Time Warner considered in 2008 and 2009 before spinning off AOL. That plan could have seen AOL sell its dial-up service to EarthLink and merge its display advertising arm with Yahoo. More»

Private equity in talks to engineer 'reverse merger'

(NEWSER) - Takeover rumors are swirling around Yahoo again. AOL is in talks with several private equity firms over a possible "reverse merger" between the two Internet giants that would see AOL chief Tim Armstrong heading up the combined company, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . One scenario being considered is for China's Alibaba Group to buy back Yahoo's 40% stake in the firm, which accounts for much of its current market value. More»