IAC/InterActiveCorp Chief Executive Barry Diller said on Wednesday he has no interest in buying Time Warner Inc Internet unit AOL, ending long-standing speculation he might consider a bid.

Diller, whose Internet business owns brands such as dating site Match, search engine Ask and eVite, said he and his team have held talks with AOL about working together.

As far as purchasing AOL, I have no interest in purchasing AOL, said Diller. There are a couple of alliances that might be possible for us, but maybe they will, maybe they won't happen.

Time Warner is currently spinning off the Internet unit, ending a troubled eight-year merger that never delivered on the promise of successfully combining TV, movies and the Internet.

AOL will focus on Web content and advertising, similar to many of the areas that IAC operates in, which led to speculation Diller might make a move for the company.

IAC has around $2 billion in cash on its balance sheet and has very little debt, but has so far focused on small acquisitions and buying its own stock.

Analysts at Citigroup say the market values AOL at about $4 billion and expect it to generate $1 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

Diller was full of praise for AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong, saying he was the right person for the job to lead the spin-off.

Armstrong was appointed in March, joining from Google Inc where he had led the North American sales operations.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; editing by Andre Grenon)

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