Monday July 23 4:28 PM ET
AOL Invests in Amazon, Expands Marketing Pact
SEATTLE (Reuters) – AOL Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:AOL – news) said Monday it made a $100 million equity investment in Amazon.com (NasdaqNM:AMZN – news) and expanded a multi-year marketing pact.
The pact is aimed at joining Amazon.com’s online retail services with AOL’s shopping channels and technology, the companies said in a joint statement. It expands a deal first struck in 1997. Some of the fruits of the pact will be seen in the 2002 holiday shopping season.
Amazon.com will also promote AOL as its exclusive Internet service provider, allowing its customers to download the service from various areas across the online retailer’s sites.
The two companies will also work together on future e-commerce initiatives and extend the alliance internationally.
Shares of AOL closed down nearly 3 percent, or $1.31, at $43 before the news. Shares of Amazon.com closed down 5.6 percent, or 95 cents, at $16.03.