Verizon to buy Yahoo
Verizon has announced that it set to acquire Yahoo’s operating business for $4.83bn – but the sale does not include Yahoo’s shares in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. In a statement issued today (25 July), Verizon said that these assets will continue to be held by Yahoo, which will change its name at closing and become a registered, publicly traded investment company. Yahoo said that it will provide additional information about this investment company at a future date.
Yahoo will be integrated with AOL (which Verizon acquired last year for $4.4bn) under Marni Walden, EVP and President of the Product Innovation and New Businesses organization at Verizon.
Yahoo’s stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan – which aren’t part of the acquisition – are substantial. According to TechCrunch, Yahoo (and now the yet-to-be-named investment company) has a 15% stake in Alibaba worth around $31.2bn, and a 34% stake in Yahoo Japan worth $8.3bn.
