Simpson Thacher, Latham & Watkins advised AOL, Huffington Post on $315 mln deal

Digital media giant AOL and popular political blog site The Huffington Post had hired Simpson, Thacher & Barlett and Latham & Watkins respectively to advise them on the recently announced $315 million acquisition deal.

According to The Am Law Daily, AOL was advised by Simpson Thacher lawyers including Peter Malloy (M&A partner), Katharine Moir (tax partner), Lori Lesser (IP partner) and Tristan Brown (executive compensation partner), while The Huffington Post was represented by Latham & Watkins lawyers, including Laurence Seymour (benefits and compensation partner), Samuel Weiner (tax partner), Abbott Lipsky (antitrust partner) and Sydney Smith (antitrust counsel).

On Sunday, AOL said it would buy Huffington Post as part of its long-term strategy to become a top producer of digital content.

The acquisition, which is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2011, creates a new media group that is expected to draw 270 million unique global visitors on a monthly basis. The Huffington Post, founded in 2005, reached 25 million unique visitors in December, according to comScore.

The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of government approvals. The boards of directors of each company and shareholders of The Huffington Post have approved the transaction.

The Huffington Post is privately owned by its two co-founders, as well as a group of investors.

Under the deal, approximately $300 million will be paid in cash while the remaining amount will be paid in the form of stock.

Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, will be named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group. In that role, she will oversee all Huffington Post and AOL editorial content. Huffington, whose net worth is estimated at $115 million could get anything between $20 million and $100 million from the merger.