Verizon to Sell Yahoo, AOL Business to Apollo for $5 Billion

Verizon Communications said on Monday it has agreed to sell its media unit, that includes Yahoo and AOL, to Apollo Global Management Inc for $5 billion (roughly Rs. 36,930 crores), as it looks to offload its digital media business.

Verizon has struggled to grow its media business, declaring them nearly worthless with a $4.6 billion (roughly Rs. 33,970 crores) write-down in 2018. Bigger players such as Facebook and Google have sweeped the digital advertising market.

Verizon will get $4.25 billion (roughly Rs. 31,390 crores) in cash, preferred interests of $750 million (roughly Rs. 5,540 crores) and retain a 10 percent stake in Verizon Media, as part of the deal terms.

The business will be called Yahoo when the deal closes, which is expected in the second half of 2021, the company said.

Verizon Media’s portfolio includes online brands such as TechCrunch, Makers, Ryot, and Flurry, according to its website.

In 2017, Verizon bought Yahoo’s Internet properties for about $4.48 billion (roughly Rs. 33,090 crores), betting its 1 billion-plus users would be a fertile audience for online ads. It acquired email service AOL for $4.4 billion (roughly Rs. 32,500 crores) in 2015.

© Thomson Reuters 2021