The financial community is keeping a close eye on a reported plan by Google and Comcast to acquire a stake in America Online.
There has been no official word from the parties involved; however, Wall Street sent shares of Comcast and Google down slightly early Thursday while AOL's parent, Time Warner, was up slightly.
The reported deal would create a joint venture among the venerable AOL ISP, Google's search engine and Comcast's sprawling cable network. The new company would then have a top-to-bottom infrastructure for online entertainment products.
A similar theory led Time Warner to acquire AOL in 2001 in a deal that resulted in red ink that continues to irk some of Time Warner's major investors.
The recent surge in high-speed Internet access and services such as text messaging and podcasts has altered the financial landscape since 2001.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
