TechTaffy

tech:

taffy

Yahoo sold to Verizon for $4.83 bn

By TechTaffy Desk

Verizon Communications and Yahoo have entered into a definitive agreement, under which Verizon will acquire Yahoo’s operating business for approximately $4.83 billion in cash. Yahoo will be integrated with AOL, under Marni Walden, EVP and president of the Product Innovation and New Businesses organization at Verizon. For Verizon, the deal comes a year after its AOL acquisition.

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, approval by Yahoo’s shareholders, and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in Q1 of 2017. Until the closing, Yahoo will continue to operate independently, offering and improving its own products and services for users, advertisers, developers and partners.

It’s poetic to be joining forces with AOL and Verizon

“Yahoo is a company that has changed the world, and will continue to do so through this combination with Verizon and AOL. The sale of our operating business, which effectively separates our Asian asset equity stakes, is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo,” said Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo. Mayer added, “It’s poetic to be joining forces with AOL and Verizon as we enter our next chapter focused on achieving scale on mobile.”

“The acquisition of Yahoo will put Verizon in a highly competitive position as a top global mobile media company, and help accelerate our revenue stream in digital advertising,” said Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO.

The sale does not include Yahoo’s cash, its shares in Alibaba Group Holdings, its shares in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo’s convertible notes, certain minority investments, and Yahoo’s non-core patents (called the Excalibur portfolio). These assets will continue to be held by Yahoo, which will change its name at closing and become a registered, publicly traded investment company.

LionTree Advisors, Allen & Company, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Guggenheim Securities are acting as financial advisors to Verizon. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Covington & Burling, and Winston & Strawn are acting as legal advisors to Verizon.

Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities, and PJT Partners are acting as financial advisors to Yahoo. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Weil Gotshal & Manges are acting as legal advisors to Yahoo. Cravath, Swaine & Moore is the independent legal advisor.

[Image courtesy: Yahoo]

Just in

Series E

Vercel raises $250M

San Francisco-based Vercel, a frontend cloud platform provider, has secured $250 million in Series E funding, bringing the company's valuation to $3.25 billion.
Series A

Worky raises $6M (Mexico)

Mexico City-based Worky, a provider of HR and payroll software solutions for Mexican companies, has closed a $6 million Series A financing round.
Industry

Amazon announces $1.31B investment in France

Amazon has announced a new investment of about $1.31 billion (€1.2 billion) in France, which the company says will lead to the creation of over 3,000 permanent jobs in the country.
Around the web

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky to step down — CNBC

Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon’s cloud computing business, will step down from his role next month. Matt Garman, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Amazon Web Services, will succeed Mr. Selipsky after he exits the company June 3, writes Annie Palmer. 
AI

Palo Alto Networks, Accenture expand alliance to offer generative AI services

Palo Alto Networks and Accenture have announced the expansion of their strategic alliance to provide new offerings that combine Palo Alto Networks' Precision AI technology with Accenture's secure generative AI services.