AOL acquires Bebo for $850 million

AOL announced it will acquire global social media network Bebo for $850 million in cash, a move the web services giant will bolster its AIM and ICQ personal communications network and give the company a premier position in the social media marketplace. Bebo boasts more than 40 million users worldwide, each averaging 78 pages per usage day; the firm's mobile partners include British operators T-Mobile, Orange and O2, as well as U.S. mobile social networking platform provider Intercasting. Upon closing the transaction, current Bebo president Joanna Shields will continue to lead the service, and will report to AOL president and COO Ron Grant.

The acquisition follows a week after the launch of AOL's Open AIM 2.0 initiative, which promises developers more freedom to access the AIM network and integrate AIM into their sites and applications. Apple also announced a downloadable AIM application for the iPhone. "What drew us to Bebo was its substantial and fast-growing worldwide user-base, its vision of a truly social web, and the monetization opportunities that leverage Platform-A across our combined global audience," said AOL chairman and CEO Randy Falco in a prepared statement. "This positions us to offer advertisers even greater reach and marketers significant insights into the desires and needs of consumers."

For more on the AOL/Bebo deal:
- read this release

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