AOL Nabs $1.1 Billion for Its Patents

by InvestorPlace Staff | April 9, 2012 10:26 am

tim armstrong aol ceo[1]AOL (NYSE:AOL[2]) has agreed[3] to sell more than 800 patents to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[4]) for roughly $1.1 billion.

The intellectual property covers key areas like search, social networking and advertising (AOL will be keeping more than 300 other patents).

The deal could be a harbinger of more patent fights in the Internet sector[5], as already seen with the recent litigation between Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO[6]) and Facebook.

And yes, investors definitely like AOL’s move. In early Monday trading, the shares are up a whopping 41% to $26.

AOL plans to distribute a “significant” portion of the proceeds back to shareholders. This is likely the best course of action, considering the company has had a miserable track record with acquisitions.

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: http://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/tim-armstrong-ceo-aol-s.jpg
  2. AOL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AOL
  3. has agreed: http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/09/aol-sells-800-patents-for-1-billion-to-microsoft-memo-to-staff/
  4. MSFT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=MSFT
  5. patent fights in the Internet sector: http://investorplace.com/ipo-playbook/facebooks-fires-back-at-yahoo/
  6. YHOO: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=YHOO

Source URL: http://investorplace.com/2012/04/aol-nabs-1-1-billion-for-its-patents/
Short URL: http://investorplace.com/?p=151602

Copyright ©2013 InvestorPlace Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 700 Indian Springs Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601.