Yahoo! Sold for $4.5 Billion to Verizon

Just days after Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) shareholders approved the $4.48 billion sale of its web properties to Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), the deal officially closed on Tuesday (June 13).
As part of the deal, ABC News reports that Verizon will acquire Yahoo’s main operations, which include its email, sports, finance and news services. Tim Armstrong–CEO of AOL which Verizon acquired in 2016–will become CEO of a Verizon subsidiary called Oath, which will combine former acquisitions of AOL and those newly acquired from Yahoo.
According to a Verizon press release, Oath will host more than 50 media and technology brands that range from HuffPost, Yahoo Sport, AOL.com, MAKERS, Tumblr, BUILD Studios, Yahoo finance, and Yahoo Mail among others.

With the acquisition brings a new management team under Armstrong’s leadership, while Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s five-year tenure comes to an end.
In Verizon’s announcement, Marni Walden, president of Media and Telematics at Verizon, said the transaction represents a “critical step in growing the global scale” that Verizon needs.
“The combined set of assets across Verizon and Oath, from VR to AI, 5G to IoT, from content partnerships to originals, will create exciting new ways to captivate audiences across the globe,” Walden said.
Similarly, Armstrong expressed his excitement on focusing to become “the best company for consumer media.”
“We’re building the future of brands using powerful technology, trusted content and differentiated data,” he said. “We have dominating consumer brands in news, sports, finance, tech, and entertainment and lifestyle coupled with our market leading advertising technology platforms.”
So what will happen with the rest of the Yahoo! brand?
According to a company press release, what’s left of Yahoo will rebrand Atlaba as of June 16, and the company will file a Notice of Registration on Form N-8A and a Registration Statement on Form N-2 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register as a publicly traded investment company.
Thomas J. McInerney, who became Yahoo’s CEO, said the company is happy to have completed the transaction and “begin a new chapter.”
“We now turn the page with very significant assets, relatively modest liabilities (excluding deferred taxes), and a boundless commitment to do everything in our power to increase shareholder value consistent with our stated policies,” he said.
Yahoo’s shares will continue trading on the NASDAQ until the close on June 16. As of June 19, Yahoo’s rebrand, Atlaba, will begin trading under the symbol AABA. As the press release states, shareholders are not required to take any action regarding their shares.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.