• Business Week, Thursday, February 7, 2008 11:15 AM

Time Warner's decision to completely separate AOL's dial-up subscription business from its ad-supported content business could ultimately bring the once mighty Web giant closer to Google. AOL would give Google the ammo it needs in a battle for Web users, intensified by Microsoft's inevitable acquisition of Yahoo.

Per the 5 percent stake it purchased in AOL in 2005, Google has the option on July 1 to take its AOL stake public, a deadline that might encourage Time Warner to sell AOL. CEO Jeff Bewkes hinted at an expanded relationship with the Web giant: "As for strategic options, it is simply always a good idea to align your businesses."

Conventional wisdom says that of the big four, AOL would be hardest hit by a Microsoft-Yahoo merger. Some Web critics think that Google would have no interest in the struggling Time Warner company, but Microsoft/Yahoo would have 665 million monthly users compared to Google's 558 million. From an audience perspective, Google could use AOL's 238 million monthly uniques. But the question remains: What would Google, primarily a technology site, do with all that content?

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