Emily Steel, Wall Street Journal
*Progress Partners served as financial advisor to Going, Inc. in its acquisition by AOL
Time Warner Inc.’s (TWX) AOL unit has acquired local online media companies Patch Media Corp and Going Inc. as part of a broader strategy to build the company’s position in the relatively fast-growing local online advertising market. The acquisitions come as Time Warner moves to split off AOL into an independent company and AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong, who joined the company in April, is working on putting together a new structure and strategy, in which local content is one major push. Patch creates technologies and operates Web sites to help local communities publish news and information. Going lets users share information about local events.
