It seems like there has been rumor, news and other reports of Yahoo attempting to sell their business for a long time, but all that is apparently all coming to an end. People familiar with the situation are reporting that Verizon is purchasing Yahoo for $4.8 Billion. While it will need to go through regulatory approval and a few other steps, there doesn’t appear to be any significant obstacles to this deal.
While not really surprising, it is quite interesting that Verizon would want to buy Yahoo. The company will get a few different things that they were likely looking for, including Yahoo’s email service, which is used by 200+ million users each month.
They will also get another struggling advertising network, which they can combine with what they already purchased with AOL a little over a year ago. Adding the user base and other technologies with what Verizon already has (lots of user information) could make for a great product.
Verizon will also get Tumblr, which is owned by Yahoo. Tumblr is a second rate social network, but it is more popular than many people realize, especially with millennials. Of course, Tumblr is a major hub for pornographic material as well, so it will be interesting to see how (or more accurately, if) Verizon addresses that.
In terms of marketing, this may present some good opportunities down the road. Having another ‘major player’ to compete with Facebook and Google is certainly going to be a good thing. That is, of course, assuming that Verizon is able to turn this purchase into something big. We won’t know for many months or years.
CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, is expected to get an estimated $55 million payout once the merger is complete.
