AOL Acquires Huffington Post

AOL, Patch's parent company, locked in a major deal Sunday night: It has acquired the influential news website The Huffington Post.

As part of the agreement, Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, will assume the role of president and editor-in-chief of a newly formed Huffington Post Media Group, of which Patch will be integrated, along with other AOL brands, including TechCrunch, Engadget, AutoBlog and Moviefone.

AOL paid a reported $315 million for The Huffington Post, a bold move for AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong, who has worked to re-establish the company as an indispensable content destination online.

The acquisition of The Huffington Post, and subsequent formation of the Huffington Post Media Group, will create a new media syndicate that reaches 117 million people in the U.S. and 270 million globally.

"The acquisition of The Huffington Post will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community and social experiences for consumers," Armstrong said.

See the full news release from AOL here.

— Chris Nesi