Last week, we had reported that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is near to acquiring Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) along with its core assets. Finally, there is a confirm update from both the companies that Yahoo has finally been sold out officially to Verizon for $4.83 billion in an all-cash buyout. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, in her recent Tumblr post, made an announcement along with the copy of an email she had to circulate across the entire organization.
“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,” said Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo.
According to Mayer, this transaction is a great opportunity for her company to “build further distribution and accelerate our work in mobile, video, native advertising and social.
Integration of Yahoo’s core business assets will lead Verizon and AOL to strengthen a lineup of their already owned and partnered global brands with this combined task force. According to Verizon, this deal will leave a positive impact across existing 25 brands in the portfolio in order to achieve sustained investment and growth.
“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,” said Lowell McAdam, Verizon Chairman and CEO.
The deal doesn’t take Yahoo shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd as well as Yahoo Japan into account. If combined, these investments are worth around $40 billion. As of Friday’s close, Yahoo witnessed a market value of around $37.4 billion. However, the deal is expected to close by early 2017. Till then, Yahoo will keep on operating independently.
