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AOL mulls buying out Yahoo!
MUMBAI: Internet service provider AOL Inc is considering making an offer to buy out search engine Yahoo! Inc.
According to reports, the plan would put the two struggling internet players in a better position to compete with Google Inc.
AOL has been holding discussions with private equity firms about organising a buyout but hasn’t held talks with Yahoo. It is also said that Yahoo had hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to help it defend against the possible approaches.
It may be noted that Microsoft had given an offer of $ 47.5 billion in 2008 and currently any deal would most likely value Yahoo at around $25 billion that would be far below the Microsoft offer. Microsoft finally withdrew its last offer of $33 per share in May the same year.
The company is discussing the possible Yahoo offer with several firms that specialise in buying companies the stocks of which have fallen out of favour. To take the tide in its favour, AOL would need to bring in more financial muscle to get a deal done.
AOL is run by Tim Armstrong, a former Google executive who is trying to feature more unique content on AOL in an effort to bring in more advertising revenue.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
