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Before people go all ballistic, please remember that yahoo and AOL make $700 million from Mail and a billion dollars from search. AOL sells huge number of paid

Before people go all ballistic, please remember that yahoo and AOL make $700 million from Mail and a billion dollars from search. AOL sells huge number of paid dialup based email accounts(for older people though). So the sale price is approximately two years of revenue. Apollo is getting it cheap!

perardi 5y ago
“AOL sells huge number of paid dialup based email accounts” Do they really? I am not being sarcastic. I cannot find a recent reference to this (everything seems to be from 2015), but given my experience getting my aunt away from AOL email: it seems horribly plausible.
- runako 5y ago
  > https://plans.aol.com/join?regtype=new https://plans.aol.com/join?regtype=new "If you're interested in purchasing a plan that includes dialup service, please call 1-800-827-6364 (Mon-Fri: 8am-12am ET; Sat: 8am-10pm ET)" I would not be surprised to learn that they still have millions of dial-up customers & millions on the new non-dialup plans.
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    Is dial-up even usable nowadays considering how heavy webpages have become?
- throwaway088 5y ago
  You have to read financial reports of aol if you can get hold of it. AOL doesn't want this info to be too widely known. Then all the old people will realize they are paying $25 per month for something that they can get for free!
- perardi 5y ago
  Ah, and here, a source! https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/aol-1point5-million-people-still-pay-for-service-but-not-for-dial-up-internet.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/aol-1point5-million-people-s... As to dialup itself… “The number of dial-up users is now “in the low thousands,” according to a person familiar with the matter.” …but, yeah, it seems 1.5 million discerning customers are basically paying for AOL mail. “There are about 1.5 million monthly customers paying $9.99 or $14.99 per month for AOL Advantage, said another person, who asked not to be named because the information is private.” Which: nice business if you can get it.
mbesto 5y ago
> Apollo is getting it cheap! And Apollo will gut these entities for every dollar that they can.
- gscott 5y ago
  That would be the best thing maybe some of them will have longer and better lives, finally escape being trapped.
- sswaner 5y ago
  Not their model. https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-apollos-new-ceo-insurance-is-inracy-buyouts-not-so-much-11619956803 https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-apollos-new-ceo-insurance-i...
nr2x 5y ago
Or Verizon already knows tracking-based ads are not long for this world and got out before the adtech crash.

perardi 5y ago

“AOL sells huge number of paid dialup based email accounts” Do they really? I am not being sarcastic. I cannot find a recent reference to this (everything seems to be from 2015), but given my experience getting my aunt away from AOL email: it seems horribly plausible.

runako 5y ago
> https://plans.aol.com/join?regtype=new https://plans.aol.com/join?regtype=new "If you're interested in purchasing a plan that includes dialup service, please call 1-800-827-6364 (Mon-Fri: 8am-12am ET; Sat: 8am-10pm ET)" I would not be surprised to learn that they still have millions of dial-up customers & millions on the new non-dialup plans.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  Is dial-up even usable nowadays considering how heavy webpages have become?
throwaway088 5y ago
You have to read financial reports of aol if you can get hold of it. AOL doesn't want this info to be too widely known. Then all the old people will realize they are paying $25 per month for something that they can get for free!
perardi 5y ago
Ah, and here, a source! https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/aol-1point5-million-people-still-pay-for-service-but-not-for-dial-up-internet.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/aol-1point5-million-people-s... As to dialup itself… “The number of dial-up users is now “in the low thousands,” according to a person familiar with the matter.” …but, yeah, it seems 1.5 million discerning customers are basically paying for AOL mail. “There are about 1.5 million monthly customers paying $9.99 or $14.99 per month for AOL Advantage, said another person, who asked not to be named because the information is private.” Which: nice business if you can get it.

mbesto 5y ago

> Apollo is getting it cheap! And Apollo will gut these entities for every dollar that they can.

gscott 5y ago
That would be the best thing maybe some of them will have longer and better lives, finally escape being trapped.
sswaner 5y ago
Not their model. https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-apollos-new-ceo-insurance-is-inracy-buyouts-not-so-much-11619956803 https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-apollos-new-ceo-insurance-i...

nr2x 5y ago

Or Verizon already knows tracking-based ads are not long for this world and got out before the adtech crash.