Verizon Buys Yahoo! For US$4.83B

Eight years after Microsoft made an offer of US$44 billion to buy Yahoo!, the company that once was synonymous with Internet search has been sold to Verizon for US$4.83 billion.

The sale was announced on Monday US time and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017.

The sale does not include Yahoo!'s cash, its shares in Alibaba, its shares in Yahoo! Japan, its convertible notes, certain minority investments, and Yahoo's non-core patents (called the Excalibur portfolio), according to retorts by itwire.com.

These assets will continue to be held by Yahoo!, which will change its name at closing and become a registered, publicly traded investment company.

Verizon chairman and chief executive Lowell McAdam said: "Just over a year ago we acquired AOL to enhance our strategy of providing a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers."

He said the acquisition of Yahoo! would make Verizon a top global mobile media company, and increase its digital advertising revenue.

Yahoo! will be integrated with AOL under Marni Walden, executive vice-president and

president of the product innovation and new businesses organisation at Verizon.

Yahoo! chief executive Marissa Mayer said: "Yahoo! is a company that has changed the world, and will continue to do so through this combination with Verizon and AOL. The sale of our operating business, which effectively separates our Asian asset equity stakes, is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo!. This transaction also sets up a great opportunity for Yahoo to build further distribution and accelerate our work in mobile, video, native advertising and social."

She said Yahoo! and AOL had popularised the Internet, email, search and real-time media, adding, "It's poetic to be joining forces with AOL and Verizon as we enter our next chapter focused on achieving scale on mobile. We have a terrific, loyal, experienced and quality team, and I couldn't be prouder of our achievements to date, including building our new lines of business to US$1.6 billion in GAAP revenue in 2015. I'm excited to extend our momentum through this transaction."

Mayer is unlikely to survive the acquisition but is likely to get a big payout even though she failed to turn things around in her four years in the top job at Yahoo!