Verizon has sold Verizon Media, its media division comprising classic online service provider AOL and web portal Yahoo, to investment firm Apollo Global Management in a deal that’s estimated to be worth $5 billion. This appears to be a loss for Verizon, as the telecommunications giant originally paid $9 billion for the two subsidiaries. Verizon will maintain a 10 percent stake in Verizon Media, which will be known as Yahoo at the close of the transaction.
Verizon sells AOL and Yahoo for about half of what it paid https://t.co/KcCizdEubU pic.twitter.com/YVMR4D32sE
— The Verge (@verge) May 3, 2021
Verizon originally paid $4.4 billion for AOL in 2015 and another $4.5 billion for Yahoo two years later. The media divisions, which included properties like Yahoo Sports, TechCrunch and Engadget, were consolidated under the absurdly named Oath, later renamed Verizon Media Group in 2018 after Verizon admitted defeat and wrote off about half of its value.