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Miller's rationale for seeking the change is that he is concerned that negative publicity regarding the parent company is often associated with the America Online division, the source said, particularly since the full name of AOL Time Warner is often abbreviated to "AOL" in news stories
Since then, several senior managers from the AOL side of the company have left or lost power, and veterans from Time Warner including Parsons are firmly in control
The talks remain in early stages, the source said The company has also been hit with numerous shareholder lawsuits that accuse AOL Time Warner of misleading investors AOL Time Warner Said to Weigh Name Change
Aug 11, 1:55 PM EST
America Online is asking AOL Time Warner Inc
to drop "AOL" from its name, concerned that negative publicity about the parent company is hurting the online service's efforts to right itself, a person familiar with the situation said Monday Revenues and earnings at AOL are falling, and subscriber losses have increased faster than many analysts were expecting
Any name change would have to be approved by the company's board
Mia Carbonell, a spokeswoman for AOL Time Warner, declined to comment on the story, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on its Web site 50 each in Monday trading on the New York Stock Exchange
AOL Time Warner's name has been tarnished as the Securities and Exchange Commission investigates numerous accounting issues at the company, mainly at the AOL division
If the AOL name is dropped, it would represent the latest retreat from the lofty goals of the deal announced in January 2000 under which AOL agreed to purchase Time Warner
Jonathan Miller, the chief executive of America Online, has raised the issue with AOL Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity
America Online has been struggling to turn itself around as dial-up subscribers continue to abandon the service for faster ways to connect to the Internet The company has also abandoned promises of rapid growth and "convergence" among different corporate divisions
AOL Time Warner's shares rose 27 cents to $15 |