Time Warner is set to separate AOL: WSJ

WASHINGTON, USA: Time Warner Inc. is set to announce a separation of its AOL division as soon as Thursday, 'The Wall Street Journal' reported quoting sources familiar with the organization.

Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes has signaled for months that Time Warner was likely to move forward without the Internet unit, and the company said last month it expected to spin off all or parts of the business.

In April Time Warner had asked some bondholders to change credit terms, a move expected to pave the way for a spin-off of its beleaguered Internet unit and had named Google executive Tim Armstrong to lead AOL, in what was seen as a bold move to reverse the fortunes of the unit.

The WSJ report said that the Time Warner's board is expected to meet on Thursday and approve a separation of AOL into an independent company. However, the structure of the transaction hasn't been finalized, it added.