Internet pioneers AOL and Yahoo persist on May 3, 2021, 9:38 9 comments
Recap: AOL and Yahoo were among the most recognizable brands on the web during their respective peaks in the mid-1990s but as they say, nothing lasts forever, especially in the fast-paced world of technology.
Internet pioneers AOL and Yahoo are changing hands one again.
Verizon has announced it is selling its Verizon Media arm to “funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc.” in a deal valued at $5 billion. Verizon Media includes the aforementioned AOL and Yahoo brands as well as Verizon’s ad tech and media platform businesses.
Source: SOPA Images / Getty
As spotted on
The Verge, Verizon sold AOL and Yahoo properties to Apollo Global Management in a deal that is reportedly worth about $5 billion. Now, that’s nothing to sneeze at if you’re a regular person, but Verizon sold both properties for roughly half of the $9 billion it what it paid for both entities. Apollo, a private equity firm, is best known for owning the Venetian resort in Las Vegas and the crafts retailer Michaels.
Apollo made headlines and not in a good way after its co-founder Leon Black stepped down after revealing that he paid over $150 million to alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein who committed suicide while in police custody.
Story
Verizon quits digital ad space, sells Yahoo and AOL to Apollo for half of what it paid for them
Verizon and Apollo have announced a deal for the former s digital media businesses, which were previously under Yahoo and AOL. The deal will see Verizon quitting the digital advertising space for good and focus on its internet provider businesses.
Sarthak Dogra | May 3, 2021 | Updated 20:52 IST
(Image: Reuters)
Highlights
Verizon will get $4.25 billion in cash along with its 10 per cent stake in the company.
The conglomerate will be rebranded as Yahoo post the acquisition by Apollo.
The companies expect to close the deal by the second half of this year.
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.
Verizon will get $4.25 billion in cash from the sale along with its 10% stake in the company. Verizon and Apollo said they expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2021.
There has been increasing evidence recently that Verizon wanted to sell off its media properties and instead focus on its wireless networks and other internet provider businesses. Last year, Verizon sold HuffPost to BuzzFeed. It also recently sold off or shut down other media properties like Tumblr and Yahoo Answers.
Verizon Communications Inc. agreed to sell its media division to Apollo Global Management Inc. for $5 billion, a move that will jettison once-dominant online brands like AOL and Yahoo.
The unit will be known as Yahoo after the close of the transaction, which is expected in the second half of this year, Verizon said in a statement Monday. Guru Gowrappan will remain chief executive officer of the media group. Verizon will keep a 10% stake in the business, it said, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
With the sale, Verizon is unloading the remnants of an ambitious but distracting foray into online advertising. Last year, the telecom giant agreed to sell the HuffPost online news service to BuzzFeed Inc., and in 2019 it sold the blogging platform Tumblr.