THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: AOL, the online company, is buying [The] Huffington Post, the internet newspaper, in a $315m (£196m) deal that represents a big bet on the future of online news.
The acquisition, which will put [The] Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington in charge of all AOL content, brings AOL an additional 25m unique visitors a month.
That could help AOL begin to turn around its display advertising business, which has struggled to grow as the company tries to turn itself into a content provider and moves farther away from its roots providing dial-up Internet.
The deal "will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community, and social experiences for consumers," Tim Armstrong, the AOL chief executive, said in a statement announcing the deal on Monday.
Founded in 2005, [The] Huffington Post is owned by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer and a group of other investors. AOL will pay $300m of the purchase price in cash.
Arianna Huffington will be named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which will include all [The] Huffington Post and AOL content, including Engadget, TechCrunch, MapQuest, Patch and more. >>> AP | Monday, February 07, 2011
