AOL Inc hired Evercore Partners to find a buyer for its more than 800 patents and explore other strategic options, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.
Private-equity firms, including Providence Equity Partners Inc, TPG Capital and Silver Lake, have approached AOL about taking the company private, yet those overtures haven’t resulted in a deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter hasn’t been disclosed. Evercore is trying to help the company wring value from a patent portfolio that AOL shareholder Starboard Value LP said may yield more than $1 billion in licensing income. AOL is exploring the options amid slow advertising growth and a decline in its dial-up Internet subscribers. The company’s revenue has dropped 29 per cent since its 2009 spinoff from Time Warner.
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