Since its spin off from  Time Warner, AOL Inc. has begun its solo journey into the abyss of the online world and as its first monumental step, the company has announced the acquisition of StudioNow Inc and online video creation and distribution service. AOL had recently begun its very own content management program, called Seed.com and the this latest acquisition will enable AOL to add much more credibility along with a concrete video platform the new service. The deal between AOL and StudioNow closed at $36.5 million in cash and stock, that will be paid in installments over the years.

With the addition of StudioNow, AOL will be able to further expand the reach of Seed, where the users are given the opportunity to be content developers for the web service and get paid for it as well.  StudioNow is a two year old entity, that is in the business of providing assistance to companies in developing brand videos and the firm will continue its efforts for AOL now, managing various AOL verticals such as AOL Sessions, Engadget etc.

In a statement, Tim Armstrong (CEO, AOL) said,

“The successful combination of a talented team, innovative technology, seasoned/professional video creators and strong client service has rapidly established StudioNow as a leader in online video creation and syndication. Those strengths bring AOL significant strategic benefits and we’re delighted that StudioNow is joining the AOL family. Premium original video creation is a fundamental part of AOL’s strategy to offer consumers world-class, stimulating content at scale and the integration of StudioNow into Seed.com will enable us to increase our video content/offerings significantly.”

Via Gigaom