After months of trying to find a buyer, Yahoo will finally be sold to US telecommunication giant Verizon in a deal worth $4.83 billion.
Lowell McAdam, CEO and Chairman of Verizon Communications said in a statement that “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,” he continued.
The news comes after Yahoo made a net loss of $4.4 billion in 2015, after record breaking profits in 2014. The company is said to have had an estimated worth of $125 billion during the dot.com boom.
Yahoo also recently wrote down the value of Tumblr, which they acquired in 2013, by near $500 million dollars, meaning it had lost a staggering 50% of its original worth.
Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo said, “Yahoo is a company that has changed the world, and will continue to do so through this combination with Verizon and AOL.”
However there is speculation over her future despite her telling employees in an email that she was “planning to stay” at the company.
The move will also mean Yahoo becomes integrated with AOL, which has invested heavily in media companies such as The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget.
The takeover is expected to be complete by January 2017.
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at ben@yiannopoulos.net/
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