Steve Case urges Time Warner breakup

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A key player in the merger of America Online and Time Warner now thinks the combined entity should be divided.

AOL co-founder Stephen M. Case is publicly agitating against Time Warner's apparent intention to form an alliance with either Microsoft Corp. or Google, the New York Times reported.

That makes Case an ally of shareholder activist Carl Icahn, who controls about 3 percent of Time Warner and has been pushing for a breakup of the world's biggest media conglomerate.

The Washington Post published an essay Sunday by Case in which he wrote "although I played a key role in bringing AOL and Time Warner together six years ago, it's now my view that it would be best to 'undo' the merger by splitting Time Warner into several independent companies and allowing AOL to set off on its own path."

Case wrote that he urged fellow directors in July to divide Time Warner into four entities -- Time Warner Cable; Time Inc., the magazine business; Time Warner Entertainment, its TV and film businesses; and AOL.

The board said no and Case resigned as a director in October, though he remains a major stockholder.