Media giant Time Warner Inc. Thursday announced it is establishing a $500 million fund that will invest in digital media companies.
The company plans to invest between $5 million and $20 million in each company. About half of the investments will be cash and the remainder will consist of promotion across Time Warner properties.
Richard Bressler, Time Warner Digital Media’s chairman, said investments would be made with an eye on increasing returns for shareholders and ensuring the companies fit with existing assets.
The announcement comes on the heels of several Internet-related investments, such as Healtheon/WebMD Corp. and OpenTV Corp.
In other news, Time Warner (TWX) and LookSmart Ltd. are expected to soon announce an alliance that will have LookSmart operating search engines across Time Warner’s properties.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the companies will share advertising revenue.