A cautionary tale is ALWAYS valuable to everyone paying attention. Nearly 50% of U.S. internet traffic. Over 30 million dial-up subscribers. And, one of the largest business mergers in history: AOL-Time Warner, worth $165 billion. 321 Unicorns in today’s dollars, and $200 billion of value lost in two years.
The AOL–Time Warner merger was a $165 billion marriage of rocket-fueled internet hype and old-money media — and the honeymoon ended fast. AOL’s dial-up empire was already dying as broadband rose, Time Warner’s executives loathed AOL’s swagger, a major culture clash, and the promised digital “synergy” dissolved into turf wars. Within two years, the dream imploded in a spectacular crash of dot-com euphoria — meeting corporate legacy inertia. Culture and vision matter! The balance sheet is not what M&A is made out of in reality.
https://lnkd.in/e6Yy9B7g
No Data Center Required
Peace! Salaam! Shalom!