Steve Case has already gone on the record to say he regretted the AOL-Time Warner merger, but the AOL founder was referring more to the merger’s implementation than to the theory behind it. Now he’s said “sorry” again.
Case attached the same qualifications to the statement as he did in the past, though, which is something many news outlets seem not to have noticed. The comments were made during an interview with award-winning journalist Charlie Rose. “Yes, I’m sorry I did it,” Case admitted, referring to the merger.
Reuters reported that he still believed the merger was “a good idea,” though. “I’m disappointed and frustrated that it hasn’t developed in the way that we all hoped at the time it could,” Case continued.
The comments following a Techdirt article on the subject were varied. No one openly attacked Case, although there were more than a few AOL detractors. A couple of people, including Michael Brooks, even appeared to offer support. “I’d bring back Case,” Brooks wrote.
One person even gave Case credit for what he perceived as a Machiavellian business play. “The AOL / Time Warner merger was a brilliant move by Steve case which hugely benefited the AOL shareholders,” according to Joe Smith. “You have to recognize that the merger was an exit strategy for AOL.
“They used vastly over priced shares in a dot com bubble company to buy a substantial stake in real company with real assets,” Smith continued. “That the company could have been better run after the merger than it was does not take awary [sic] from the brilliance of the original move.”
Assuming Case isn’t just trying to cover up such a scheme, he appears to be really, really, sorry about the merger.
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Doug is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.
