Richard Siklos of The New York Times reports this morning that Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons told a Goldman Sachs media conference that AOL is no longer a stigma on the company, and could yet again be a driver for enhanced company growth.

Mr. Parsons indicated that amid pressure from Carl C. Icahn, the financier and Time Warner shareholder, he was "looking real hard" at moves like buying back more stock and increasing the dividend.

But he added that a big buyback and Mr. Icahn’s proposal to spin off the company’s cable system missed the point.

"In my view, the real source of undervaluation is neither of these things," Mr. Parsons said. "The real driver of enhanced value, I think, is going to be AOL in the short term and the long term."

(The New York Times)