WSJ: AOL to Acquire Mobile Ad Provider

AOL is rumored to be close to a deal with Third Screen Media, a mobile advertising startup, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday. The company had previously been in talks with Microsoft over a possible deal, however negotiations fell apart. The AOL deal is said to be worth some $80 million, and is "fairly advanced," the paper reports.

The purchase of Third Screen would make sense for AOL, as it has transitioned away from a subscriber-based to an ad-supported business model. While at the current time the market for mobile advertising is small, it is expected to grow over the next several years. Neither AOL nor Third Screen would comment publicly on the latest rumors.