Time Warner buys back AOL stake from Google

Time Warner has bought back Google's 5 per cent stake in struggling Internet company AOL for $283 million. The price, paid July 8, is close to what Google estimated its stake at earlier this year.

Time Warner has bought back Google's 5 per cent stake in struggling Internet company AOL for $283 million. The price, paid July 8, is close to what Google estimated its stake at earlier this year. The details emerged in a regulatory filing by AOL on Monday.

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The deal sets the stage for AOL's impending spinoff from parent Time Warner.

Mountain View-based Google bought the stake for $1 billion in 2006, but in January estimated the investment had sunk by more than 70 per cent to $274 million, giving AOL a market value of about $5.5 billion.

Time Warner agreed to buy back the stake earlier this year. The price at which New York-based Time Warner bought back the stake values AOL slightly higher, at about $5.66 billion.