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Time Warner Outlines AOL Separation Plan

Time Warner on Wednesday will separate AOL's dial-up access business from advertising and content, indicating that the media giant may be preparing to sell all of its parts, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company has been exploring the option of chopping up AOL and selling the pieces for months, but talks have hit a snag over how revenue and liabilities would be split between the content and advertising businesses.

AOL has been pulling Time Warner's stock down since the infamous 2000 merger. Getting rid of the troubled Internet giant has been top of the list for CEO Jeff Bewkes since he took the job seven months ago. The separation of the dial-up access business from the rest of AOL, which will be announced during Time Warner's second quarter earnings call Wednesday, could be the first step in the full separation of AOL from Time Warner.

Talks with Microsoft and Yahoo for AOL's content and advertising businesses have been ongoing, while EarthLink looks the most likely buyer for the dial-up business. If Yahoo and AOL merge, the latter will most likely be folded into Yahoo, with Time Warner receiving a minority stake in the joint venture.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »

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