[Posted on March 13, 2008 - 11:35 AM]
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AOL chairman and CEO Randy Falco (pictured) wasn't kidding last fall when he said the Web portal was pushing aggressively into other countries, a strategy greatly accelerated by today's $850 million purchase of Bebo Inc. The target, which in terms of users is the No. 3 social network in the U.S., is particularly strong in the U.K., ranking first in Ireland, and claims to have more than 40 million members worldwide.In a letter last fall announcing that the Time Warner Inc. [TWX] unit was planning layoffs, Falco highlighted AOL's focus on taking its services worldwide and said that it would have a presence in 30 countries by the end of 2008. The goal? "Put simply, my vision for AOL is to build the largest and most sophisticated global advertising network while we grow the size and engagement of our worldwide audience," he wrote.
Adam Lehman, a former senior vice president of business affairs and development at AOL and once one of the company's top dealmakers, says that one key to that strategy will be AOL's ability to integrate across its growing number of acquisitions, which is critical in making its Platform A ad sales and services vision a success. AOL's purchases this year include Buy.at, a British affiliated marketing firm, while other recent acquisitions include contextual ad firm Quigo, behavioral targeting firm Tacoda, mobile advertising network Third Screen Media and German ad serving company AdTech AG.
"Absent this integration, AOL as holding company owner would face the risk of draining Bebo of whatever value it currently has as an independent business," Lehman says by email. - Alain Sherter
See March 13 story from Tech Confidential
See October 2007 post from BoomTown
For more see Between The Lines, SearchEngineWatch, paidContent, Fred Destin and CenterNetworks
