AOL extends local services with two acquisitions

AOL is targeting the market for localised information and activities

AOL has made two acquisitions which it hopes will help provide users with better information about what's going on in their home cities.

The company said on Thursday that it had agreed to buy Patch Media Corporation and Going Inc.

Patch Media's Patch site provides what AOL terms a "local news and information platform", while Going allows users to share and discuss local recreational activities.

AOL chairman and chief executive Tim Armstrong was an early investor in Patch, and has removed himself from the acquisition talks in order to avoid a conflict of interest. He will not take any profit from the deal.

AOL hopes that the acquisitions will allow it to better target the market for localised information and activities.

"Local remains one of the most disaggregated experiences on the web today. There is a lot of information out there, but simply no way for consumers to find it quickly and easily," said Armstrong. "Local will be a core area of focus and investment for AOL."

The move comes as AOL prepares once again to set off as an independent company. The firm announced last month that it would be ending its ill-fated run with Time Warner, and operate as a separate publicly traded company.