Google takes a stake in AOL

$1bn for five per cent for global ads tie-in
Ken Young, vnunet.com 19 Dec 2005

Google is planning to pay $1bn to take a five per cent stake in AOL as part of a wide-ranging advertising deal, according to the Financial Times.
The AOL sales team will get access to the Google network, and Google will give Time Warner's media properties preferential treatment.

The move is seen as a snub to Microsoft which was known to be considering buying the stake to further its online ambitions.

Google and AOL already work closely following a deal in 2001. AOL currently gets 80 per cent of the revenues from search-related advertising displayed on AOL websites but cannot sell the search ads and has to negotiate deals direct with Google.

As a result of the new deal AOL will be able to sell the ads as well, and will sell display ads on AOL and Google properties. The deal also includes promotion of AOL content through Google's paid search.

Yahoo was at some point also reportedly a bidder for the AOL stake.

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