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A published report says New York-based media giant AOL Time Warner is close to finalizing a deal to acquire struggling e-business print magazine Business 2.0.

According to Businessweek Online, AOL TW will acquire Business 2.0, which has been put on the market by Imagine Media, and fold it into Time Inc.'s eCompanyNow.

Conde Nast and Ziff Davis were also among the frontrunners to acquire Business 2.0, but BusinessWeek Online said AOL Time Warner won the bidding.

"The acquisition could be inked as early as next week... but it's unlikely AOL will meet Imagine's asking price in the neighborhood of $50 million," BusinessWeek Online said, quoting unnamed sources.

Officials at both companies did not return calls at press time.

"If the deal happens, Business 2.0 would likely be merged with Fortune spinoff eCompanyNow, with the combined entity taking the Business 2.0 moniker, say the sources."

Business 2.0 is not the only new economy publication on the market. Other titles up for sale include Red Herring and Upside.

Badly burned by the slowdown in the advertising industry, tech publications have been forced to slash staff and cut down on pages in their print editions.