AOL acquired contextual search
company Sphere, the ISP
(Internet service provider) and portal company said Tuesday.
The search technology of San Francisco-based Sphere allows publishers to aggregate
content based on related subjects, such as video, audio and blog posts, in order
to increase advertising exposure by driving page views.
AOL did not release financial terms of the deal, nor did it say when it expected
the deal to close.
The Time Warner company is currently looking for an identity and new revenue
streams as it disposes of its Internet access business. In March, it bought
U.K.-based social networking site Bebo for US$850 million. Last week, it was
linked to a possible deal with Yahoo as a way for that company to give shareholders
options other than be acquired by Microsoft.
