Essentially, if AOL had not purchased Time Warner at the height of the bubble, ask yourself what AOL’s value would be today? Probably not much. So, like others of their ilk, the smart guys at AOL saw their precarious position and bought an established, credible media giant as a parachute.
Viewed in today’s context then, the value of [allegedly] 30 million users measured against the value of Time Warner’s cable assets, vast media library, and other profitable businesses is paltry.
-Ian.