AOL Sells Microsoft 800 Patents

Its stock soars 37% thanks to $1B deal
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 9, 2012 8:05 AM CDT
AOL Sells Microsoft 800 Patents
In this Feb. 7, 2011 photo, a small AOL placard is displayed at their offices in New York.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

AOL has struck a mammoth deal to sell Microsoft more than 800 patents for $1.06 billion in cash, the companies announced today. That will leave AOL with a little more than 300 patents of its own related to search, advertising, and social networking, among other things, but it will also have a "perpetual license" for the patents it's selling, according to The Next Web.

AOL stock shot up 37% on news of the deal, according to Reuters, which makes sense, given that the company is promising that a "significant portion of the sale proceeds" will go to shareholders. AOL has been trying to auction off its patent portfolio for at least a month, in part thanks to mounting pressure from Starboard Value, a major shareholder that has expressed concern over AOL's management. (More AOL stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X