Verizon Sells Yahoo, AOL In $5 Billion Deal
The telecom company is selling the two brands to a private equity company.
Telecom giant Verizon Communications has announced plans to sell Yahoo and AOL to a private equity company called Apollo Global Management. The sale price? $5 billion. The deal is expected to close later this year.
According to The New York Times, the deal covers not only the Yahoo and AOL brands, but their advertising platforms, too. Verizon is not completely divesting of Yahoo and AOL, as it will hold on to a 10% stake.
Verizon originally purchased AOL in 2015 for $4.4 billion, then it bought Yahoo in 2017 for $4.48 billion. In 2018, Verizon disclosed a writedown of $4.6 billion over these properties based on "lower-than-expected revenues and earnings" amid increased competitive and pressure in the market. Yahoo and AOL do bring in a lot of money, though, posting $1.9 billion in sales in just the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 10% year-over-year.