Bebo safe in AOL shakeup

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 10 Jul 2009 at 08:09

AOL has confirmed that it will hold onto Bebo, as it begins the process of selling assets and restructuring its faltering business.

AOL is currently in the process of being spun off from Time Warner, bringing speculation that it may want to sell Bebo, which has lagged in popularity behind sites including Facebook and Twitter.

However, according to CEO Tim Armstrong, Bebo will not be pencilled onto that list. Describing Bebo as "great value" Armstrong claimed the site will be moved to a ventures unit of the online company so that work can be done to improve it.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Sun Valley media and technology conference in Idaho, Armstrong admitted other AOL assets are under review for possible sale or divestiture, but declined to give specifics.

The former Google executive was appointed in March and is conducting a 100-day review of AOL operations. He is expected to present his strategy later this month.

AOL, whose properties include celebrity news website TMZ and the AIM messaging service, relies heavily on advertising revenue and has struggled with the decline of its internet access business. Its share of the US search market has dropped from nearly 12% three years ago to about 4%.