Levin Apologizes for AOL/Time Warner Merger

NEW YORK: Former Time Warner chief Gerald Levin, in an interview on CNBC, apologized for merging the company with AOL a decade ago, referring to the agreement as the "worst deal of the century."

Levin, who at the time of the merger was CEO of Time Warner, said: “I presided over the worst deal of the century, apparently, and I guess it’s time for those who are involved in companies to stand up and say: you know what, I’m solely responsible for it. I was in charge. I’m really very sorry about the pain and the suffering and loss that was caused. I take responsibility.”

He went on to call on other business leaders to follow his example and own up to their own bad decisions: “Where is the stand-up leadership that’s going to take responsibility for what’s happened and do something about it?” 

In 2000, AOL purchased Time Warner for $164 billion and the company was renamed AOL Time Warner; by 2003, after the value of the company had plummeted, the AOL name was dropped, and at the end of 2009, the Internet company was spun off as an independent entity.