( CNN ) -- AOL has agreed to purchase The Huffington Post for $ 315 million , the two entities announced in a joint news release Monday . `` As part of the transaction , Arianna Huffington , The Huffington Post 's co-founder and editor-in-chief , will be named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group , which will include all Huffington Post and AOL content , '' the statement said . The new group will have a combined 117 million unique visitors a month in the United States and 270 million around the world , according to the release , which cited December 2010 data from the marketing research company comScore . `` Our readers will still be able to come to the Huffington Post at the same URL , and find all the same content they 've grown to love , plus a lot more -- more local , more tech , more entertainment , more finance , and lots more video , '' Huffington said in the statement . The boards of directors of each company and shareholders of The Huffington Post have approved the transaction , but the proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions , including receipt of government approvals , the two groups said . The transaction is expected to close in the late first- or early second-quarter of this year , according to the statement .
Statement : Chris Smith will be the CEO of The Huffington Post Media Group . The new group will include all Huffington Post and Twitter content . The group is expected to have a combined 100 million unique visitors worldwide .