AOL is currently owned by the Italian technology company Bending Spoons, which is acquiring it from Yahoo’s parent, Apollo Global Management, in a deal expected to close around late 2025 to early 2026.

Who owns AOL now?

  • AOL is being purchased by Milan-based tech firm Bending Spoons, known for apps like Evernote and Remini.
  • The seller is Apollo Global Management, which bought Yahoo (including the AOL brand) in 2021 and has been its corporate owner up to this latest deal.
  • As of early 2026, AOL is therefore effectively under the control of Bending Spoons, pending full integration and any final regulatory or closing steps.

How the deal is structured

  • Bending Spoons is acquiring AOL’s web portal and email business from Yahoo, which sits in Apollo’s portfolio as part of its digital media assets.
  • Reports have put the deal value at about 1.4–1.5 billion dollars, though exact official terms have not been broadly disclosed.
  • The buyer raised roughly 2.8 billion dollars in debt financing to help fund this AOL acquisition alongside other investments.

Why Bending Spoons wants AOL

  • Bending Spoons describes AOL as an “iconic” internet brand with strong, long-term user loyalty, particularly in email services.
  • The company uses a “hold forever” strategy, saying it intends to revamp and invest in AOL rather than flip it for a quick resale.
  • AOL is reported to generate more than 500 million dollars in annual revenue and around 400 million dollars in EBITDA, making it a solid cash-generating asset.

AOL’s business today

  • AOL is no longer just a dial‑up relic; it now focuses on its aol.com portal, email services, and privacy/protection software products.
  • Estimates cited in recent coverage say AOL has about 8 million daily and 30 million monthly active users for its email.
  • That user base keeps AOL among the more widely used email providers worldwide, even if it is no longer a dominant consumer internet gateway.

Quick ownership timeline

[4] [4] [4] [5] [1][5][3]
Period Owner Notes
2000s–2010s Time Warner / AOL as standalone AOL passes through several restructurings and spin- offs.
2015–2017 Verizon Verizon acquires AOL, then combines it with Yahoo into “Oath.”
2017–2021 Verizon (Oath / Verizon Media) AOL brand sits inside Verizon’s digital media division.
2021–2025 Apollo (via Yahoo) Apollo buys Yahoo (including AOL) from Verizon.
2025–2026 → Bending Spoons Italian tech firm acquires AOL from Yahoo/Apollo in a deal around $1.5B.
**TL;DR:** AOL is no longer owned directly by a big U.S. telecom or media conglomerate; it is being taken over by Italian tech company Bending Spoons, which plans to keep and modernize the brand rather than sell it off.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.