Verizon announced that is selling off its Verizon Media division to Apollo Global Management in a deal worth $5 billion. The deal includes brands such as AOL and Yahoo, once juggernauts of the internet, as well as popular tech sites such as Engadget and Techcrunch.
While the transaction unloads Verizon’s media division on Apollo Global Management, the deal still has the telecom retaining a 10% stake in the company. So even though Verizon Media will be under new management, Verizon hasn’t completely cut ties with the company.
It’s uncertain what changes might be in store for the companies under the Verizon Media umbrella. Certainly, some will be cut or merged in with other underperformers in the portfolio. Regardless, we’re not likely to see much change until the deal officially closes in the second half of 2021.
Despite receiving $4.25 billion in cash and $750 million in preferred interests, the deal sees Verizon losing quite a bit compared to its initial investments.
Originally, Verizon paid 4.4 billion for AOL and $4.5 billion for Yahoo. It seems the investments didn’t quite pay off, which is why the telecom is finally saying goodbye and redirecting its focus on its network.
