Time Warner & AOL to split?

[nihil]

I have in the past commented on the rather shaky marriage between Time Warner and AOL ($168billion?) and whether it was likely to last.

Well, it looks like Time Warner are looking at a "major restructuring" which is similar to "reverting to key competencies" Yes, I know, unless you have a business PR BS degree it makes your eyes glaze over.

In plainspeak, it means "circle the waggons the Indians are coming" or perhaps "oops, we wish we hadn't gone and done that"

Story is here:

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61564.html

[JPnyc]

I was under the impression that had already happened.

[nihil]

Not as far as I am aware.

There was some sort of management shake up and reorganisation, which looked to me like the prelude to a sell-off, but I don't think that there has been anything in the way of negotiations with potential buyers yet.

[JPnyc]

Seems like they've been talking about it for years now. I just assumed it must have gone through by this point.

[isildur]

Seems to me that JP is right. I seem to recall something a few years ago about them looking to part ways. At that time, IIRC, there was talk about TW being unhappy about the bill of goods they had been sold by the AOL people.

[nihil]

Well, Jeff Bewkes (Time Warner CEO) made the announcement on Wednesday, February 6th. 2008.

Analysts have been predicting it because of the effect AOL's decline was having on TW's stock prices, and I have no doubt that TW fueled this speculation to steady the nerves of its stockholders. However, you can only get away with that ploy for so long, and the time has obviously come for action.

[Ouroboros]

Invest in Sun Microsystems. Now.

O