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AOL Dumps Buy.at
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March 01, 2010

AOL Dumps Buy.at

By David Sims, TMCnet Contributing Editor


AOL (News - Alert) Inc. has sold its affiliate marketing business, Buy.at, to Digital Window, which “runs a network of affiliate marketing sites.”

 
Adotas says AOL’s “been going through a lot of changes lately after splitting with sugar daddy Time Warner (News - Alert). As it’s refocusing as a content-based network, AOL’s decided it just doesn’t have enough time or energy for affiliate marketing.”
 
The Associated Press (News - Alert) reports that such sites steer customers to e-commerce sites in exchange for a cut of sales. London-based Digital Window says it acquired Newcastle, England-based Perfiliate, which runs Buy.at.
 
The Washington Post calls it “something of a surprise move,” noting that AOL acquired Buy.at for a rumored $150 million “but although sale terms have again not been disclosed this time round it's fair to say the price will be substantially less than that.”
 
AOL separated from Time Warner late last year. Always tough to know what to do with the children when that happens, especially when you just bought one a couple years ago.
 
According to AOL, Adotas says, “Buy.at has been highly successful in the marketing services arena -- Reuters (News - Alert) has the company’s annual sales at 40 million euros – and would be better off being owned by a group in that space.”
 
According to a release from Digital Window, “the majority of which is owned by German media group Axel Springer and Swiss communications group Publigroupe,” Adotas notes, when combined with Buy.At, “will form the U.K.’s largest performance marketing group.”
 
AOL “has been trying to streamline and concentrate on building itself up as a content and advertising business,” the AP says, noting that the former Internet colossus now runs a lot of Web sites, including tech blog Engadget and personal finance site WalletPop.
 
“In an e-mail statement, AOL said it’s reviewing its assets in regards to how they relate to the company’s new core strategy,” Adotas says, tacking on “does that mean we’ll see a full-on garage sale soon?”

David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David’s articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.

Edited by Erin Harrison


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