NEW YORK CITY, New York: Yahoo is close to selling AOL, one of the most recognizable names of the early internet, to Italian technology company Bending Spoons in a deal valued at about US$1.4 billion, four people familiar with the talks told Reuters.

The sources said negotiations are advanced, though a final agreement has not been signed, and the discussions could still collapse. Yahoo is owned by Apollo Global Management, which acquired 90 percent of the company from Verizon in 2021 in a $5 billion transaction. Both Apollo and Bending Spoons declined to comment, and Yahoo did not respond to requests for comment.

If completed, the deal would mark a new chapter for AOL, which is remembered for its dial-up service, instant messaging, and the famous "You've Got Mail" alert. The brand became emblematic of the dot-com boom and bust, culminating in its troubled $165 billion merger with Time Warner in 2000. That deal remains one of the largest and most criticized corporate tie-ups in history.

Bending Spoons, headquartered in Milan, has become one of Europe's most prominent technology firms. The company specializes in acquiring struggling digital brands and revamping them for modern users. In February 2024, it raised funding that valued the firm at $2.55 billion, making it one of Italy's few unicorns.

Adding AOL would give Bending Spoons access to its large user base and portfolio of subscription services, which include LifeLock identity protection, LastPass password management, and McAfee Multi Access malware protection. AOL continues to generate advertising revenue, and its website has recently seen renewed momentum, with traffic up 20 percent year-on-year among users aged 25 to 54. New content verticals, from health and fitness to science, true crime, and home living, have been credited with the growth.

Bending Spoons has around 300 million monthly users across its suite of apps. It has been on a buying spree: last month, it agreed to take video platform Vimeo private in a $1.38 billion deal, its largest acquisition to date. It has also acquired companies such as WeTransfer.

Bankers see Bending Spoons as a candidate for a U.S. IPO in the coming years. CEO Luca Ferrari, who co-founded the company in 2013, said last year that there are no immediate listing plans but that the firm is positioning itself for expansion beyond Europe.