• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, February 4, 2005

Time Warner now holds an 8 percent stake in Google, according to information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. In Time Warner's fourth quarter 2004 earnings report released this morning, the company said it "does not consider its remaining interest in Google to be a strategic investment," but the position makes Time Warner the third largest outside investor in Google after two big fund managers.

In fact, Time Warner, which acquired its Google stake through warrants owned by its America Online unit, said it realized a gain of $188 million through the sale of a portion of its stake during the fourth quarter, but that it continues to hold 5,081,893 shares of Google's common stock, which Time Warner puts at a fair market value of nearly $1 billion.

Separately, Time Warner reported strong profits and revenues for the fourth quarter and full-year 2004. Ad sales jumped 16 percent to $2.016 billion during the quarter and rose 13 percent to $6.955 billion for the year.

The company attributed the growth to the strength of its TV networks, especially Turner Broadcasting System, which had an 11 percent increase in ad sales during 2004, as well as the launch of four new Time Inc. magazines and AOL's acquisition of Advertising.com.