With Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), DealBook asks whether Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will acquire AOL, whose parent is Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), the parent of BloggingStocks.

Google, whose businesses include an advertising platform as well as an Internet service and a web site, already owns 5% of AOL, and it may feel compelled to bulk up by buying AOL so it can keep up with Microsoft and Yahoo -- should they merge.

I'm not sure how much AOL would go for, but my hunch is that Google -- whose stock is down almost 10% today -- can find better uses for its capital. How so? If Google bought the remaining 95% of AOL it does not already own, it would get access to the following assets:

• AOL Finance's leading market share. which, according to comScore, has passed both Yahoo and Microsoft to take the top spot in terms of unique visitors. AOL rose from 12.2 million unique visitors in November to 13.5 million in December, a 10% increase. This is much better than GoogleFinance's much smaller market share. And according to paidcontent, a full acquisition would aid Google on the advertising side as well as with traction and traffic in portal areas it has yet to conquer such as finance and sports.

While sexy companies like Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) and TomTom (AMS: TOM2) sell technology that makes finding your location on a map as easy as pushing a button, the foundation of the business is in the maps themselves. In 2006, over half of all internet map searches referenced the products of just one company, TeleAtlas (AMS: TA).

Now, Amsterdam-based TomTom has announced plans for a friendly buyout of TeleAtlas for just under $30 per share, a 32% premium over market value. This is quite a bold vote of confidence by TomTom, since TeleAtlas consistently loses money, including an expected $7 million this year. The total cost of the purchase will be in excess of $2.5 billion.

TeleAtlas is a provider of mapping information to TomTom, MapQuest, and many other GPS systems, and is used in over 90% of U.S. 911 calls. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation uses TeleAtlas data, as do governments in many of the 64 nations for which they have compiled map data. TomTom is the world leader in portable GPS devices, with 52% of the European market and 25% of the U.S.'s.

The acquisition will allow TomTom to vertically integrate its product offerings and give it access to a much more diverse book of business. I expect the company to leverage their technology to offer seamless hardware/data products to the many customers already enjoying TeleAtlas's mapping services. Given the price paid, however, the sales pace had better be brisk, or TomTom will need more than a GPS unit to find its bottom line.

"Investors have shied away from the big telcos in recent years because of concerns that their traditional businesses were shrinking," notes George Putnam III, an expert in uncovering turnarounds.

But now, he explains, "After years of concern about the cable companies invading their turf, the big telecoms are now well positioned to fight back."

In his The Turnaround Letter, the advisor looks at seven leaders in the global telecom space, all of which he says represent global leaders, with dominant positions in their local markets and the "potential to grow steadily by expanding the services they offer."

AT&T (NYSE: T) Putnam notes, gained control of Cingular Wireless due to its merger with Bellsouth. The renamed AT&T Wireless, he says, will account for about 35% of AT&T's revenues.

The advisor observes, "In addition to a strong wireless presence, AT&T is rolling out fiber-based landline services. With revenues expected to be north of $120 billion in 2007 and substantial operating cash flow, AT&T is a force to be reckoned with." Further, he notes, the dividend was just raised for the 22nd consecutive year, and the company is expected to repurchase roughly $7 billion worth of stock in 2007.