Talk about the mourning after. Almost a decade later, one of the worst deals of all time still has little to recommend it. In 1999, at the peak of the dotcom bubble, upstart AOL bought the old media dinosaur Time Warner for $164bn in stock. On Thursday – following the announcement AOL will be spun-out by the year’s end – Time Warner’s market capitalisation stood at $28bn, with the recently split-off Time Warner Cable valued at a further $11bn. The decision marks a final admission of defeat in the attempt to join film and television content with the free online world.

Separation may at least provide a more suitable structure to reorganise the mess of online businesses within AOL, a challenge that has defeated several sets of managers. It is unlikely that the new chief executive Tim Armstrong, an ex-Googler, could have been recruited without the opportunity to be fully in charge. A liberal sprinkling of stock may help to motivate staff for the task ahead.