AOL has announced that it has completed its acquisition of online social networking phenomenon Bebo.
Bebo will now form the centerpiece of AOL's newly created People Networks business unit.
Bebo's CEO Joanna Shields will serve as executive vice president of AOL and president of People Networks, which combines Bebo, AIM, ICQ and AOL's other community platforms and reaches about 80 million users worldwide. Shields will report to AOL president and COO Ron Grant.
“With the addition of Bebo and the creation of People Networks, AOL is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the exploding social media space by delivering a more personal experience for consumers and a better way for advertisers to engage them,” said Randy Falco, chairman and CEO of AOL.
“AOL is now fully focused on growing our business in three key areas - our advertising network, publishing and people networks - by delivering relevant content and advertising across the web, and we're making great progress in each area.”
Ron Grant added: "Unlike other social networks, which have had a difficult time monetising their sites without jeopardizing the user experience, Bebo created an environment that enables advertisers, brands and media companies to engage in meaningful, relevant conversations with its users.
“Combining Bebo with our other social media applications, our content sites, and Platform-A gives us an unmatched opportunity to create value for these highly engaged audiences.”
One of the first initiatives for People Networks will be to integrate AOL's other community applications and tools, including IM, chat and mail functionality into Bebo.
It will also let users merge AIM and Bebo profiles so they can use common screen names without re-registering.
AIM is the leading instant messaging network in the US, with more than 30 million users. ICQ has 28 million active users worldwide.
In addition, People Networks will integrate other recent AOL acquisitions, including widget technology company Goowy Media and social search question and answer service Yedda.
Integration plans also include the cross-distribution of AOL and Bebo content and applications to expand the scale of the combined networks.
Source: Breaking News