AOL Buys Stake in Google for $22 Million

Time Warner Inc. said its America Online unit bought 7.4 million shares of Google Inc. for $22 million. The stock may be valued at as much as $1.3 billion after Google sells shares to the public.

America Online exercised a warrant this month that allowed it to buy preferred shares of Google, Time Warner said in a regulatory filing. America Online’s preferred shares of Google will convert to Class B common stock when Google sells shares to the public.

Google sold the warrant to America Online two years ago, when it also agreed to provide its search service and advertising for America Online’s website. America Online now holds about a 3% stake in Mountain View, Calif.-based Google.