Apollo Global Management is considering a sale of AOL, the onetime internet giant that helped usher Americans online, according to people familiar with the matter.
The private-equity firm has received inbound interest in the business, which could fetch around $1.5 billion. Talks are preliminary and may not result in a transaction, the people said. Apollo acquired AOL in 2021 as part of its $5 billion purchase of AOL and Yahoo from Verizon Communications.
AOL was once synonymous with the internet, known for its dial-up service and iconic “You’ve got mail” greeting. In the late 1990s, the company boasted tens of millions of subscribers and briefly became one of the most valuable firms in the U.S. after its ill-fated merger with Time Warner in 2000.
Two decades later, AOL is a shadow of its former self. As broadband connections proliferated and Silicon Valley giants like Google and Facebook came to dominate online search and advertising, AOL’s market share collapsed. The brand still maintains pockets of loyal users, but its influence on the broader digital landscape has long since waned.
Under Apollo, AOL has been bundled with Yahoo under a single umbrella, with an emphasis on stabilizing revenue through advertising, subscription services and niche content. Though diminished, the business remains profitable. AOL generates about $400 million annually in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to people familiar with the matter.
That steady cash flow makes it attractive to potential buyers seeking resilient, income-generating assets in a turbulent market. Still, a $1.5 billion price tag would represent a fraction of the company’s onetime value. At the peak of the dot-com bubble, AOL’s market capitalization exceeded $200 billion.
For Apollo, which manages nearly $700 billion in assets, a sale would align with its strategy of recycling capital from legacy holdings into newer opportunities. The firm has a track record of acquiring mature businesses, restructuring them to improve cash flow, and exiting once market conditions allow. Possible suitors for AOL could include strategic buyers in media and technology or other private-equity firms interested in reliable earnings. International groups seeking a foothold in the U.S. digital market may also emerge as bidders.
Whether Apollo ultimately pursues a sale remains to be seen. Negotiations are in the early stages, and the firm could opt to hold on if offers don’t meet its expectations. But even the possibility highlights the long, unlikely journey of a onetime symbol of the internet age—transformed from a household name to a mid-market asset moving through the portfolios of Wall Street dealmakers.
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