AOL, one of the internet’s early behemoths, has been snapped up by Italian app developer Bending Spoons in a reported $1.4bn deal.

The Milan-based firm said it is raising $2.8 billion in debt to fund both the acquisition and future takeovers.

AOL – which stands for American On Line – still has eight million daily users and stands to generate $400 million in annual revenue this year.

It was acquired by private equity giant Apollo in 2021 as part of a $5 billion deal which saw it acquire Yahoo and its assets from telecoms giant Verizon.

Bending Spoons has acquired other US firms in Evernote, Meetup and Brightcove.