Struggling to increase ad revenue and improve its bottom line, Time Warner Inc.’s chief said this week the company could spin off its AOL unit and unwind one of the most controversial touchstones of the Internet bubble.
While reports have surfaced in recent months of a possible AOL spinoff, Parsons confirmed the possibility about the company that once bought Time Warner (TWX) for $184 billion in the biggest merger ever at the time.
While he has no timeline for any possible move, CEO Dick Parsons told Fortune Magazine in an interview that Time Warner may spin off the unit as a separate stock if the online service fails in its latest effort to capture more online ads through its free portal.
America Online would likely have difficulty drumming up interest in the IPO market, especially if Time Warner can’t turn the company around to show growth.
