The billion-dollar investment Google will make with AOL has proved complex enough to require Google to move the anticipated completion date for the deal to the second quarter of ’06.
$1,000,000,000.00 in cash. The Form 8-K filing Google submitted to the SEC yesterday reminded industry observers just how much Google plans to pay for a 5 percent stake in AOL.
Google isn’t ready to cut that check yet, though. The company’s 8-K filing noted the closing date for finishing the deal, when the financial impact will be felt in Google’s bank accounts, has been shifted to later this year:
The parties have substantially completed negotiations with respect to definitive agreements governing this $1 billion investment in AOL and Google expects that the investment will close in the second quarter of 2006.
The price has been agreed upon, but the commercial aspects of the deal have not been fully worked out yet. By commercial aspects, it is likely advertising figures into that discussion.
Early after the two sides announced the deal, a New York Times story claimed graphical ads were coming to Google search results. AOL supposedly wanted this concession as part of any deal, and it’s easy to see why considering Google’s dominance in search market share.
Google ended up having to debunk those stories about how AOL would use part of its $300 million ad credit with the search engine. Instead of “crazy, flashy, graphical doodads” being part of the advertising display, Google’s Marissa Mayer said her company was just going to help AOL learn how to better get its pages indexed.
Maybe AOL needs more time figuring out Google Sitemaps before everyone signs on the dotted line, perhaps?
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
