AOL is owned by Apollo (the United States, NYSE: APO), which acquired the brand on 1 September 2021.[1][2] AOL was founded in 1985 in New York, New York and was independent until 2021.
AOL brought millions of Americans online through dial-up in the 1990s, mailing out free trial discs in enormous quantities. Its $165 billion merger with Time Warner in 2000 is widely regarded as the worst corporate deal ever made; Verizon bought what remained in 2015 for $4.4 billion.
Funds managed by Apollo Global Management acquired ninety per cent of Verizon Media, comprising Yahoo and AOL and their properties, in a deal valued at about $5 billion. Verizon retained the remaining ten per cent.