Verizon Will Acquire Yahoo for $4.8 Billion with Advertising Assets Being Added to AOL | Small Biz Trends

July 25, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

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.

AOL – the internet survivor | BBC News

May 14, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

AOL, the firm which told you “you’ve got mail” and delivered more CDs to your door than Amazon, is being bought by Verizon.

The deal values AOL at $4.4bn (£2.8bn), a long way from the mammoth $222bn price tag the company attracted 16 years ago during a boom in the share prices of technology firms.

AOL started life as Quantum Computer Services, which first provided an online service for the Commodore 64 computer system in 1985.

The company built up its position as one of the largest internet providers, gobbling up browser company Netscape and competitor CompuServe.

Then came AOL’s purchase of Time Warner in a deal valued at more than $160bn in 2000. Nine years later, Time Warner reversed the acquisition and AOL began to reinvent itself as a media company with former Google advertising executive Tim Armstrong at the helm.

Verizon Has Approached AOL for Possible Takeover or Joint Venture | Bloomberg

January 6, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Verizon Communications Inc. has approached AOL Inc. (AOL) about a potential acquisition or joint venture with the Internet company to expand its mobile-video offerings, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The wireless carrier hasn’t made a formal proposal to AOL, and no agreement is imminent, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Speaking at a conference today, Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said the company isn’t having “significant acquisition discussions” and is more interested in partnerships with media companies and content providers, rather than buying them.