(Reuters) – AOL Inc CEO Tim Armstrong has been meeting with top shareholders in the past couple of weeks to push the idea of a sale to Yahoo Inc that could wring up to $1.5 billion of cost savings, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions.
While Yahoo’s own strategic review has bumped AOL to the back burner for many on Wall Street, Armstrong is still trying to drum up shareholder support for a deal with Yahoo, presenting it as an alternative to going it alone as an Internet media company.
“The focus in the meeting has gone from a year ago of being around the fundamentals to now being how could you carve this up, what are separate assets worth, are there ways to sell off the business to extract value from them,” said a top 20 AOL shareholder who attended one of the meetings.
Armstrong said a merger between AOL and Yahoo could wring out $1 billion to $1.5 billion in savings from overlapping data centers and duplicate news sites, such as sports, entertainment and finance, according to another major shareholder who met with Armstrong.
He is pushing the notion that a combination with Yahoo would appease ad agencies looking for more efficient buys with a bigger audience, said the two shareholders.
They said they liked the idea of a merger with Yahoo but it remains to be seen if Armstrong can pull it off.
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sounds like a good idea for both floundering companies
sounds like two turds want to become a combined mega turd.
AOL obviously hasn’t learned from the Time Warner merger.
bulldime!
two turds make a dime!
this is why events unnerver me, they find it all a different story
note to self the wheels are turning
all she asks’s the strength to hold me, …
etc
i’ll break them all, no mercy shown, heaven knows its got to be this time…