Verizon sells media businesses including Yahoo and AOL to Apollo for $5 billion
The sale signals that Verizon will focus on its internet-provider businesses as rivals continue to explore media.
Verizon will sell its media group to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion, the companies announced Monday. The sale allows Verizon to offload properties from the former internet empires of AOL and Yahoo.
Verizon will keep a 10% stake in the company and it will be rebranded to just Yahoo.
The sale will see online media brands under the former Yahoo and AOL umbrellas like TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance and Engadget go to Apollo at much lower valuations than they commanded just a few years ago. Verizon bought AOL for $4.4 billion in 2015 and Yahoo two years later for $4.5 billion.