Google will get first shot at AOL

Google Inc. will get “first dibs” at signing a search engine deal with AOL Inc. when the two companies’ current agreement expires at the end of this year, AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong said Thursday.

Asked how Microsoft Corp.’s aggressive push into the search market could impact the negotiations between AOL and any search engine provider, Armstrong said his company could “maybe get the same economics” from a new deal.

But he noted that any new search deal would have to be financially good for AOL …

Source: Wall Street Journal