The end result of Google's US$1 billion investment in AOL in 2006? 28 cents on the dollar.
Time Warner, which is in the process of spinning out AOL as a separate company once again, confirmed that Google sold its 5 percent stake in AOL for US$283 million on July 8, according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Both companies had signaled their intentions long ago regarding that stake: Google notified Time Warner in February that it was ready to make a move and wrote off more than US$700 million of that investment in January, while Time Warner said it would buy back the stake in May when announcing plans to spin off AOL.
Still, the move closes a chapter in the relationship between Google and AOL. It also values the Time Warner unit at US$5.7 billion, according to Reuters.
This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.
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