Patch Parent AOL to Acquire The Huffington Post

AOL, the parent company of Patch, announced late Sunday an agreement to acquire the news, commentary and lifestyle website The Huffington Post. 

AOL is acquiring the site for $315 million, with about $300 million coming from cash on hand. The Huffington Post, founded in 2005, is one of the fastest-growing web properties on the Internet.

The combined companies will have 117 million monthly unique visitors in the U.S. and 270 million worldwide, based on December numbers from comScore.  

The transaction will create a new way for people to get local and global information in a timely and entertaining way, AOL said.

As part of the transaction, Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post's co-founder and editor-in-chief, will be named president and editor-in-chief of a new group within AOL, The Huffington Post Media Group, which will include AOL Media, AOL Local & Mapping and AOL Search, as well as The Huffington Post.

"Together, our companies will embrace the digital future and become a digital destination that delivers unmatched experiences for both consumers and advertisers," said Tim Armstrong, chairman and CEO of AOL in a statement Monday.

Additional Reading

• View the full press release about the acquisition here.
• In Arianna Huffington's own words: "When HuffPost Met AOL: 'A Merger of Visions,'" in which she specifically addresses Patch.com.