AOL Buys TechCrunch

Now the fun begins. AOL has bought the tech web blog TechCrunch for an undisclosed sum, confirming rumors that began circulating in the last 24 hours.

AOL said that TechCrunch would operate as part of its network of technology-related properties, which also includes the blogs Engadget, TUAW, and Switched.

"This wasn't supposed to happen today," said TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, taking the stage Tuesday morning at a conference that TechCrunch is hosting this week in San Francisco.

He said the official announcement was planned to take place later on but was moved up after news of the pending deal leaked on Monday afternoon.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, who joined Arrington on stage for the official signing said that AOL intended to "be as hands-off as possible."

There was speculation about whether Arrington, an outsize presence who represented the public face of the blog, would stick around after any deal. But in his off-the-cuff remarks, Arrington seemed to suggest he would remain with AOL at least for the next three years. For his part, Armstrong said during his remarks that "there are two things i ask every entrepreneur Ii meet with: you have to be twice as passionate about your space as anyone on our management team. Two, you have to stick around."

Arrington, who previously worked as a lawyer in Silicon Valley, created the site in the mid-1990s and then built TechCrunch into a must-read tip sheet focusing on tech mergers and acquisitions rumors. The blog became closely identified with the ups and downs of the (mainly) Web-based companies which emerged in the aftermath of the popping of the big tech bubble in the late 1990s. Arrington, who acquired a persona as the brash bad boy of the tech publishing industry, courted - even reveled - in controversy. But his labors paid off and he was selected by Time Magazine as one of the most influential people in the world in 2008.

As always in the aftermath of a merger is the question about how the personalities will mix. For AOL, keeping Arrington around promises to be Jobs No.1, 2, and 3. At least until the terms of his contractual obligations are fulfilled. Then the job may fall to Armstrong to prove the website AOL just bought is bigger than any single personality.

While the two sides remained mum about the purchase price, reports of the sale's value were all over the map in media coverage. CNBC put the price tag at $40 million while Business Insider says its sources put the number closer to $25 million.