AOL will once again get a new name.
The struggling Internet company, which changed its moniker from America Online Inc. to AOL LLC just three years ago, will become known as AOL Inc. before it begins trading as a public company — something expected near the end of the year when it is spun off from parent Time Warner Inc.
AOL must make the change from LLC to Inc. before it can be listed on a stock exchange, but it’s not yet clear if it will happen before or after it is spun off.
According to a recent regulatory filing, New York-based AOL plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “AOL.”
AOL has changed names several times thus far. The company started out in 1985 as Quantum Computer Services. It began offering its AOL online service in 1989 and became known as America Online Inc. in 1991. When the company merged with Time Warner Inc. in 2001 it formed AOL Time Warner Inc., but Time Warner cut the AOL from its name as AOL’s legacy dial-up Internet business — once immensely popular — began its decline.
In 2006, America Online Inc. became AOL in a branding decision and switched from being a corporation to a limited liability company because of Google Inc.’s $1 billion purchase of a 5 percent stake in the company.
This week, AOL said in a regulatory filing that Time Warner bought back that stake in July for $283 million, setting the stage for the upcoming spinoff.
Meanwhile, AOL is beginning to embrace the brand again after worrying that people have viewed it as primarily a dial-up Internet access company even as it increasingly emphasized its advertising and Web site properties.
Starting Sept. 1, its Platform-A advertising unit will become known as AOL Advertising. In some circles,…