AOL to Acquire Huffington Post in $315 Million Deal

Announced Monday, online media company, AOL, and left-of-center news blog service, The Huffington Post, have agreed to an acquisition.  The buying price amounts to $315 million and, according to Time, is five times the projected annual revenue of $65 million for the news blog.

The Huffington Post, launched in 2005, was intended to be a more liberal answer to the conservative Drudge Report.  It provides political coverage as well as blogging on topics like sports, entertainment, and local news in certain markets.  Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the website, will serve as president and editor-in-chief of the new Huffington Post Media Group.  In this position, she will manage the Huffington Post as well as all AOL content.

AOL, once a prominent Internet service provider, has been trying to change itself in recent years.  As noted by CNN, the company purchased several smaller content firms.  In the last year, it purchased the blog network TechCrunch, the online distributor 5Min Media, and the social media company ThingLabs.  Other acquisitions made previously are Moviefone, MapQuest, and StyleList.  BBC reports that AOL CEO Tim Armstrong hopes to develop the company into a home for specialist content.

The union of AOL and Huffington Post is estimated to generate 270 million users with 117 million of those users residing in the United States.  The deal is expected to close in late first or early second quarter of this year, according to reports from CNN Money.