Microsoft News Tracker

Gary Gentile at the AP:

Time Warner Inc. is in discussions about finding a partner to boost advertising revenue at its America Online unit — but AOL is not for sale, Chief Executive Dick Parsons said Tuesday.

“We are not interested in selling AOL,” Parsons said at a press briefing before a speech in Los Angeles.

Time Warner is negotiating with different parties about a deal that could help AOL’s transition from a business that relies on paid subscriptions to one that makes money based on advertising revenue, Parsons said.

He declined to give further details.

This confirms the basic thesis of today’s earlier rumor, but still leaves us guessing as to the likeliest suitor. Microsoft and Google may be in the dark too.

Update: Rick Aristotle Munarriz works over the financial pemutations and combinations at the Motley Fool.