In an extremely unexpected move, AOL has acquired social site Bebo for $850 million. Bebo currently has over 40 million members, but nobody realized that AOL would go the acquisition route -- until it did.
Was it worth it? Some people think that the approach is the most important thing:
If they push for international recognition (AOL was mainly based in the US) they should be alright in the long run. If they are trying to promote it in the US more than they should, waste of money.
But in the UK, apparently, Bebo is a great social network, and as long as AOL focuses its efforts on where Bebo is big, it can work for them.
Forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums and WebmasterWorld.