AOL Reaches Deal to Acquire The Huffington Post

Big Patch news today: Patch’s parent company, AOL, announced Monday morning its agreement to acquire news website The Huffington Post for $315 million.

The deal is scheduled to go through within the next few months. At a 22 percent growth rate last year, The Huffington Post was one of the fastest growing websites on the Internet. To put that in perspective, Twitter grew 18 percent in 2010.

HuffPost founder Arianna Huffington will lead a new division at AOL called The Huffington Post Media Group, which will include Huffington Post, PopEater, Moviefone, MapQuest, TechCrunch, Black Voices, Endgadget and your favorite—Patch.

So what does this mean for loyal Patch readers? At this point, no changes have been announced. But this is what AOL CEO Tim Armstrong has to say about how the acquisition will impact our parent company:

"The acquisition of The Huffington Post will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community, and social experiences for consumers. Together, our companies will embrace the digital future and become a digital destination that delivers unmatched experiences for both consumers and advertisers." 

For more, check out the official press release.