Business & Tech

AOL, Patch's Parent Company, Agrees to Buy The Huffington Post

The acquisition is expected to give the combined group a base of 117 million unique visitors each month in the U.S.

AOL, which owns Patch, has announced an agreement to purchase online media site The Huffington Post for $315 million.

Patch has nearly 800 community news websites across the country, including 12 in San Diego County. The deal will bring Patch, along with other AOL properties such as TechCrunch, MapQuest, Engadget and Moviefone, under Arianna Huffington as the president and editor in chief of The Huffington Post Media Group.

The purchase, subject to government approval, is expected to close in the late first- or early second-quarter of the year.

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The acquisition will give the combined group a base of 117 million unique visitors each month in the U.S., according to comScore data cited by AOL in a press release. The Huffington Post, which has 25 million unique visitors a month according to the release, has become known for group blog posts from high-profile people such as President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"The acquisition of The Huffington Post will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community, and social experiences for consumers, "AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong said in a statement. "Together, our companies will embrace the digital future and become a digital destination that delivers unmatched experiences for both consumers and advertisers."

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The Huffington Post was founded in 2005.

For more on the move, see the press release from AOL.


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