Verizon is establishing a deal to acquire Yahoo

After months of leaks and speculation, Verizon Communications Inc. has emerged as the most likely buyer of Yahoo! Inc.

The deal, which may be announced in the next few days according to people familiar with the matter, will likely bring to an end the tumultuous reign of Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, who tried and failed to re-invent Yahoo as an independent company. If finalized, the nation’s largest wireless carrier would add the iconic web pioneer and its millions of daily users to a growing stable of media properties.

Verizon is discussing a price close to $5 billion for Yahoo’s core internet business, one of the people said. While the deal doesn’t include the company’s patents at this stage, it does include real estate assets. The non-core sale of intellectual property assets will be sold separately, a person familiar with the deal said, and won’t be finished for another month at least. They could fetch “hundreds of millions of dollars,” the person said.

View the full article