25-July, Basking Ridge / Sunnyvale – Today the US telecommunications giant Verizon announced that they will acquire the operating business from Yahoo for $4.8B. There have been indications of that happening since last week, but only now the actual facts and numbers hit their press release portal. Yahoo will be left with its stakes in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan, which operates as an own subsidiary.
Both these assets have a market value of about $40 billion. Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, is now likely to combine the powers of Yahoo with AOL to create an even bigger media organization. If there are no showstoppers along the road, the acquisition will be formally completed by Q1 2017. How the software acquisitions of Yahoo, like Aviate or Livetext, are impacted by this changes is currently not clear.
Leadership Quotes
“Just over a year ago we acquired AOL to enhance our strategy of providing a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers. The acquisition of Yahoo will put Verizon in a highly competitive position as a top global mobile media company, and help accelerate our revenue stream in digital advertising.” – Lowell McAdam, Verizon Chairman and CEO
“Yahoo is a company that has changed the world, and will continue to do so through this combination with Verizon and AOL. The sale of our operating business, which effectively separates our Asian asset equity stakes, is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo. This transaction also sets up a great opportunity for Yahoo to build further distribution and accelerate our work in mobile, video, native advertising and social.” – Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo
“Our mission at AOL is to build brands people love, and we will continue to invest in and grow them. Yahoo has been a long-time investor in premium content and created some of the most beloved consumer brands in key categories like sports, news and finance.” – Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL
About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York City, generated nearly $132 billion in 2015 revenues. Verizon operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with 112.6 million retail connections nationwide. The company also provides communications and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.
About AOL
AOL is a media technology company with a mission to connect consumers and creators through open marketplaces. AOL uses data to disrupt content production, distribution and monetization. The company connects publishers with advertisers across its global, programmatic platforms, tapping into Microsoft inventory and original content brands like TechCrunch, The Huffington Post and MAKERS, which reach over 500 million monthly global consumers. Within its mobile advertising network alone, AOL has a reach of roughly 600 million users. A subsidiary of Verizon, AOL is shaping the digital future.
About Yahoo
Yahoo is a guide to digital information discovery, focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining users through its search, communications, and digital content products. By creating highly personalized experiences, Yahoo helps users discover the information that matters most to them around the world — on mobile or desktop. Yahoo connects advertisers with target audiences through a streamlined advertising technology stack that combines the power of Yahoo’s data, content, and technology. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions.
Photo credit: Magnus Höij
Source: Brian Womach / Alex Sherman (Bloomberg) / Caroline Campbell (AOL) / Bob Varettoni (Verizon) / Anne Espiritu (Yahoo)
Editorial notice: The “about content” has been provided by the respective companies for generic PR purposes.
