Verizon Communications said on Monday that it has agreed to sell its media unit, which includes Yahoo and AOL, to Apollo Global Management for US$5-billion, as it looks to offload its digital media business.
Verizon has struggled to grow its media businesses, declaring them nearly worthless with a $4.6-billion write-down in 2018. Bigger players such as Facebook and Google have swept the digital advertising market.
Verizon will get $4.25-billion in cash, preferred interests of $750-million and retain a 10% 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. It reported revenue of $1.9-billion in the first quarter of 2021.
In 2017, Verizon bought Yahoo’s Internet properties for about $4.5-billion, betting its billion-plus users would be a fertile audience for online ads. It acquired e-mail service AOL for $4.4-billion in 2015. — Reported by Eva Mathews, (c) 2021 Reuters
