BBC NEWS | Business | Google confirms $1bn stake in AOL

BBC NEWS | Business | Google confirms $1bn stake in AOL: "Online search engine Google has confirmed it will invest $1bn to take a 5% stake in Time Warner's AOL unit as part of a major strategic alliance.
The deal, which follows intense negotiations between the two US internet giants, values the troubled AOL unit at $20bn.
The global online advertising partnership will make more of AOL's content available to Google users.
The agreement shuts out software giant Microsoft from a rumoured AOL tie-up.
'We're very pleased to build significantly on our special relationship with Google,' said Time Warner chief executive Dick Parsons. "