Google's billion-dollar AOL bet takes a dive
In a statement filed with the SEC late today, Google stated that its 2005 purchase of 5 percent of AOL "may be impaired." Analyst guesstimates of AOL's value peg it at about $10 million, or half the value at which Google bought in. It's a blow to Google, but not a big one — a couple hundred million in paper value lost, to a company that takes in more then ten billion a year. The investment still met its primary goal: Cockblocking Microsoft. [AP] (Photo by AP/Paul Sakuma)