In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, as reported by Reuters, AOL CEO Jonathan Miller said an IPO for AOL was "an option" under consideration.
He also told the German newspaper AOL’s sales might decline for up to two years as it moves from a subscription-based business model to an advertising-driven model.
In the wake of Google’s $1.65-billion stock-for-stock acquisition of YouTube, AOL will be buyer in the Web 2.0 consolidation push. Miller said AOL was considering various companies as acquisition candidates, including some in Europe.
Miller said AOL had talks with social-networking site Facebook, but had decided not to bid for it. In the interview, Miller implied that Facebook’s asking price was above what AOL was willing to pay.
Said Miller:
In the end, it’s a question of price. One consequence of Google’s acquisition of YouTube is that no one wants to sell under the price they think they can get. The game is becoming ever more expensive.
