Former AOL, Fox execs start Internet firm: Report

Velocity Investment Group is expected to buy a variety of Internet startups, consolidate them and possibly sell the combined entity, The Wall Street Journal reports.


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller and former Fox Interactive Media President Ross Levinsohn have started an Internet company aimed at buying, packaging and re-selling Internet startups as a combined entity, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Private equity firm Great Atlantic LLC has agreed to back Miller and Levinsohn's newly-formed Velocity Investment Group, which is already scouting for acquisitions.

Miller and Levinsohn's expect to boost online advertising revenue at the startups, the Journal reported, citing sources close to the matter.

Additionally, Velocity is considering acquisitions of companies that broker ads for other Web sites.

Small Internet companies are often considered risky investments, but Miller and Levinsohn hope their experience and reputations will help attract talented entrepreneurs to join their team.

Miller was chief executive officer at Time Warner's (Charts, Fortune 500) AOL division from 2002 to 2006, a time when the company's offerings were transitioning from a dial-up web service to an online portal.

Levinsohn spearheaded New Corp.'s (Charts, Fortune 500) Internet group in 2005 and played a significant role in the company's purchase last year of social networking site, MySpace.com. Top of page

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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.