Patch Parent AOL to Buy Huffington Post for $315 Million

AOL, the parent company of Patch, announced late Feb. 6 an agreement to acquire The Huffington Post, the news, commentary and lifestyle website founded in 2005, and one of the fastest-growing web properties on the Internet.

AOL is acquiring The Huffington Post for $315 million, with approximately $300 million coming from cash on hand.

The combined companies will have 117 million monthly unique visitors in the U.S. and 270 million worldwide, based on numbers from comScore, December 2010. AOL said the transaction will create a new way for people to get local and global information in a timely and entertaining way.

As part of the transaction, Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post's co-founder and editor-in-chief, will be named president and editor-in-chief of a new group within AOL. The new Huffington Post Media Group will include AOL Media, AOL Local & Mapping and AOL Search, as well as The Huffington Post.

Additional Reading

• View the full press release about the acquisition here.
• In Arianna Huffington's own words: "When HuffPost Met AOL: 'A Merger of Visions,'" in which she specifically addresses Patch.com. 
• Advertising Age reports on the purchase and specifically addresses Patch: "AOL Bets $315 Million on Arianna, Buys Huffington Post to Build 'New American Media Company'"
• The New York Times reports on the acquisition and specifically addresses Patch: "Betting on News, AOL is Buying The Huffington Post"