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Aol boss sold shares Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/07/20/waol20.xml&sSheet=/portal/2002/07/20/ixport.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/07/20/waol20.xml&sSheet=/portal/2002/07/20/ixport.html
AOL boss sold £47m of shares before quitting
By Simon English in New York
(Filed: 20/07/2002)
A senior director of AOL Time Warner, who resigned after its market value fell by more than three quarters in a year, managed to cash in shares worth £47 million before he left.
Robert Pittman still owns shares potentially worth another £53 million, though they have fallen in value from £138 million just six months ago.
Mr Pittman, who was paid £1.3 million last year, resigned late on Thursday as the film and media giant unveiled a management shake-up that leaves the "old economy" Time Warner executives firmly in control.
As chief operating officer, he was seen as one of the architects of the dotcom boom, building America Online into possibly the best known internet business in the world.
As the wheels continue to fall off corporate America due to accounting scandals and major bankruptcies, investor anger dented stock markets in America and Britain.
The FTSE 100 index in London tumbled another 199 points to 4,157 yesterday. In New York, the Dow Jones index fell by 390 points to close at 8,019, below its level following September 11.
When AOL bought Time Warner in January 2000 for $106 billion (£69 billion) in shares it was heralded as a victory for the internet age, although the deal ran into difficulties almost immediately.
Sales began to fall as the internet companies that advertised extensively on AOL collapsed and management infighting began. A deal that was at first dubbed the greatest of the century is now seen as the worst in history.
Jerry Levin, the chief executive who also quit recently, said at the time of the merger that the extraordinary value of AOL shares was sensible because "something profound is taking place in this century - this will be a company of hugs and high fives".
Ted Turner, who sold his empire, including CNN, to Time Warner, fell out with Mr Levin, announcing that his biggest wish was that he could have "fired Jerry before he fired me".
In April AOL took a charge worth £34 billion - the biggest write-off in corporate history, an admission that the merger was absurdly overvalued.
AOL shares hit a new low yesterday of $11.58, down from $50 a year ago.
The company is not in danger of going bankrupt but its fall from grace is being seen as indicative of a business culture that inflated expectations, enriched executives, and cost the public billions.
19 July 2002[Money]: AOL on ropes as Time Warner merger crumbles
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