May 12, 2021

Verizon is reportedly set to sell AOL and Yahoo to private equity firm Apollo in a deal worth $5 million.

While the deal is expected to close later this year, Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan will continue to call the shots, and Verizon will hold a small stake in the company as part of the deal.

Verizon had initially acquired Yahoo and AOL in separate transactions in 2015 and 2017. While Verizon bought Yahoo and AOL in hopes of participating in some of the big advertising cash tech companies such as Facebook and Google, the bet did not pay off, as Verizon instead wrote off significant losses.

Colin Gillis, head of research at Chatham Road Partners, said: “There was no synergy from the get-go. All the telecoms wanted to avoid becoming commoditized pipes.”

For more information, read the original story in NPR.