AOL Time Warner Inc. needs a buyer willing to spend a few hundred million dollars on a mature, capital-intensive, slow-growth, cash-flow deficient business. Good luck.
Of all AOL's assets, the financial characteristics of its book publishing operation are the least appetizing—the American Online division notwithstanding.
"From a financial standpoint trade book publishing is very challenging and decidedly unattractive," said Whitestone Communications Inc. president Baran Rosen. "The margins are low, and cash flow is among the worst in any business."
This is an excerpt from an article by Peter Lauria and David Carey for The Daily Deal; January 27, 2003
