In what could be viewed as a strategic move at realizing better value from its assets, AOL has agreed to sell 800 of its patents, including applications, to Microsoft in a 1.056 billion dollar deal.
AOL, a leading web services behemoth, has had to deal with a lot of speculation in the past in terms of its huge collection of patents, especially coming from shareholders and investors. Apparently, the company has fallen short in monetizing and getting the best value out of its trove of patents, according to the shareowners. This sale, which is seen to be concluded by the end of this year, is expected to bring better value and proffer better gains to all the shareholders and employees of AOL.
In a memo released by CEO Tim Armstrong, it has been emphasized that AOL will be retaining more than 300 patents and patent applications even after the billion-dollar purchase deal. This move is being done to ensure the future growth and innovation of the company, despite the patent sale. Nonetheless, AOL expects to propel the company forward especially where innovation is concerned, as Microsoft is also giving them a perpetual license on the 800 sold patents. The transaction began through a competitive auction which Microsoft participated in and eventually closed.
According to Brad Smith, a Microsoft EVP and General Counsel, Microsoft has been eyeing AOL’s patent portfolio for a considerable period of time. In fact, the operating system giant has been following and analyzing AOL’s portfolio collection for several years. Through this recent deal, Microsoft has been able to obtain an excellent license to the portfolio of and gain possession of specific patents from AOL. These, as stated by Microsoft counsel and EVP Brad Smith, are among the two foremost goals by Microsoft when it participated in the auction.
The patents sold by AOL to Microsoft include patents on search, advertising, social networking, content management, content generation, mapping, and several others.
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