Verizon Nears Sale of AOL and Yahoo to US Private Equity Fund

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] U.S. telecommunications company Verizon is close to finalizing negotiations to sell its media business division, which owns Yahoo and America Online (AOL), to private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

On the 2nd (local time), Bloomberg News cited anonymous sources reporting that "the negotiation results could be announced as early as the 3rd." The sale price is estimated to reach up to $5 billion.

Verizon launched 'OATH' by merging AOL and Yahoo, which it acquired in 2015 and 2017 respectively. The plan was to combine AOL's strength in media content and Yahoo's strength in online advertising with its mobile business to secure new revenue streams, but after failing to achieve the annual sales target of $10 billion last year, it has been seeking to reorganize.

If Verizon succeeds in selling this media business, it is expected to use the funds for building 5th generation wireless networks and other purposes. Earlier, Verizon announced plans to invest $53 billion this year to secure licenses and lead the 5G market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.