As part of the spinoff, Time Warner will purchase the 5% stake in AOL owned by Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the the third quarter of 2009. Once the separation is completed, Time Warner shareholders will own all of the outstanding interests in AOL, which will focus on its Web brands and its advertising display business Platform A. The company will also continue to operate its Internet subscription service. The service has lost more than two-thirds of its users, but continues to deliver strong returns. Tim Armstrong (pictured), the former Google exec hired as AOL CEO in March, will continue to lead AOL. 

As we noted on Wednesday, the spinoff ends the 2001 megamerger many deemed the deal of the century. For a reminder of how the deal went down -- and the jubilation and skepticism it prompted -- check out this installment of Decade of The Deal, our series commemorating The Deal's 10-year anniversary. - Suzanne Stevens