New York
– As AOL (NYSE: AOL) continues to explore the sale of some of its non-core assets, TechCrunch
speculated that the company may fair better financially if it were simply to
abandon social network Bebo, rather than sell it.
The company, which paid $850
million to acquire Bebo in 2008, would likely pocket around $380 million by
writing off the struggling property, according to corporate tax experts.
Selling it, however, likely would only bring $100 million or less.
And while
AOL could declare the remaining $750 million a tax loss, that amount could only
apply against long term capital gains.
Bebo currently boasts about 14.6 million
members, down from 22 million at the time of the sale.
Newly independent AOL
recently has been trying to shed some of its non-core properties, selling
affiliate marketing network Buy.at and reportedly shopping Bebo, instant
messenger ICQ and video site Truveo, among others.
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