Time Warner to Spin Off AOL Soon: Report

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Time Warner(TWX Quote) plans to execute its long-planned spinoff of AOL in the middle of December, according to the blog Silicon Alley Insider, which cited three anonymous sources.

"A super solid source involved with planning the spin-off says an exact date hasn't been announced internally, but that a mid-December spin-off is CEO Tim Armstrong's goal," the blog reported.

Time Warner has said since May that it would separate AOL by the end of 2009.

As everyone knows, by cleaving the Internet portal, Time Warner will unwind an eight-year-old combination that, at the time the deal was announced, was hailed as a forward-thinking merger between old and new media. AOL has struggled mightily in recent years to maintain a once-powerful brand that, at its peak, claimed 30 million members. Its subscriber base has since shrunk by at least two thirds.

Earlier this week, AOL appointed nine directors to what will become the separated company's board. They include Michael Powell, a former FCC chairman, and Patricia Mitchell, former chief of the Public Broadcasting System.

Shares of Time Warner closed Thursday at $30.67, down 32 cents, or $1.05.

-- Written by Scott Eden in New York

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