AOL Announces Deal to Acquire The Huffington Post

Exciting news in AOL and Patch-land today as AOL announced an agreement to acquire The Huffington Post and partner with its founder Arianna Huffington as president and editor in chief of the newly formed Huffington Post media group.  

In the interest of full disclosure for our readers at Norwood Patch, and sharing news that we hope will prove exciting for you all as well, here's the statement from AOL chief executive officer Tim Armstrong on the aquisition:

We believe in brands, quality journalism, and the positive role of communities in the world—The Huffington Post shares our values and the combination of the two companies will create the premier global and local media company on the Internet.

Co-founded six years ago by Arianna Huffington and Ken Lerer, The Huffington Post has grown to become an industry leader—one of the Web’s most popular and innovative sources of online news, commentary, and information. Arianna and team have created a brand and a destination that focuses on the consumer experience. By combining The Huffington Post with AOL’s network of sites, thriving video offerings, local expertise and enormous reach, we will create a company that is laser-focused on serving our audiences across every platform imaginable – social, local, video, mobile and tablet. 

In the local area, the combination of the two companies will create a scaled connection between global and local communities on one platform.  This will create a new way for people to get local and global information in a timely and entertaining way.

The Huffington Post will join the family of AOL Brands that are destinations for an influencer audience, brands like TechCrunch, Engadget, AutoBlog, and Moviefone. Uniquely, The Huffington Post is the platform for influential people - the people that drive trends, commerce, politics, entertainment, news, and information.

Arianna Huffington is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Internet space and someone that is even more successful in building communities and relationships in every corner of the globe. The Huffington Post and Arianna have created a company that has partnered with the most successful and well-known leaders in all aspects of society that touch important topics to give consumers directaccess to the most influential decision makers and community leaders. 

This acquisition will create a high-quality and diverse digital ecosystem encompassing local, national and international news, politics, entertainment, technology, fashion, sports, health, personal finance, green, lifestyle, the arts and more.  This deal will combine the amazing talent at AOL with the innovative and talented staff of The Huffington Post.