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AOL, once a major Internet pioneer, is being sold to an Italian technology company.
Bending Spoons is acquiring web portal and email provider YahooWhich is itself owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management.
Milan-based company, which owns productivity and media Apps According to one, Evernote and Remini have raised $2.8 billion in debt financing to finance the acquisition and support other investment ventures. News release On Wednesday.
Although financial details have not been disclosed, Reuters reported earlier this month The sale of AOL was expected to be valued at approximately $1.4 billion, while wall street journal And Axios Both quoted the price as $1.5 billion,
Bending Spoon, which specializes in acquiring and transforming digital businesses, says it plans to reform and retain AOL rather than sell it, while respecting its “hold on forever” strategy for acquired businesses.
“AOL is an iconic, beloved business that is in good health, has stood the test of time, and we believe has latent potential,” Luca Ferrari, CEO and co-founder of Bending Spoon, said in a statement.
“By our estimation, AOL is among the top ten most used email providers in the world, with a customer base of approximately 8 million daily and 30 million monthly active users. We intend to make significant investments to help the product and business thrive.”
AOL’s core operations now focus on Internet privacy and security software, as well as its long-standing AOL.com website and email service, which continues to drive user engagement and revenue.
The company reportedly generates $400 million in annual EBITDA and more than $500 million in revenues, sources said. wall street journal,
“We intend to make significant investments to help the product and the business thrive,” Ferrari said in its statement. “Bending Spoons has never sold an acquired business – we are confident that we are the right long-term stewards for AOL, and look forward to serving its large, loyal customer base for many years to come.”
Founded in 2013, Bending Spoons also owns platforms including Komoot, Meetup, Remini, StreamYard, and WeTransfer. In September 2025, the company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Vimeo, with the deal expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending stockholder and regulatory approval. The Italian company is said to be named after a scene from a scifi film math question,
According to the news release, its products have reached more than one billion users, including 300 million monthly active users and 10 million paying customers, including several Fortune 500 companies.
AOL, once a symbol of the early Internet era, rose to fame in the late ’90s through its AIM chat service and free-trial CDs, which introduced millions of users to the Web.
Its cultural prominence peaked with the 1998 romantic comedy you’ve got Mailwho popularized the brand signature email greetingcompany officially Terminated your dial-up internet Just last month, on September 30, the service closed a decisive chapter in its history.
AOL’s corporate journey has included several high-profile ownership changes. In 2001, it merged with Time Warner in a $100 billion deal, which led to regulatory scrutiny and massive financial write-downs.
Verizon It later acquired AOL in 2015 for $4.4 billion, followed by Yahoo in 2017 for $4.8 billion. The telecom giant wrote off almost half of the value of both brands in 2018.
In 2021, Apollo Global Management Bought AOL and Yahoo together Setting the stage for AOL’s latest sale to Bending Spoons, for $5 billion.