Verizon Communications Inc. today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Yahoo! Inc. for $4.83 billion. The acquisition only includes Yahoo’s core operating business, not its more valuable assets: Yahoo Japan and its $41 billion stake in Alibaba, the Chinese ecommerce company.
This is not the first time Verizon purchased an aging Internet giant. Last year, the company picked up AOL for $4.4 billion.
“The addition of Yahoo to Verizon and AOL will create one of the largest portfolios of owned and partnered global brands with extensive distribution capabilities,” says the announcement.
The purchase gives Verizon access to Yahoo’s more than 1 billion monthly users — 600 million of whom are mobile users — which is most likely what piqued its interest in the first place.
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