Former AOL, Fox execs start Internet firm: Report

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.