Verizon Media sold to Apollo Global Management for US$5bn
Verizon today announced the sale of Verizon Media to private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. for US$5 billion (A$6.45 billion). The company will go forward under the name Yahoo.
Verizon will retain a 10% stake in the company now known as Yahoo, and will be led by current Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan.
“We are excited to be joining forces with Apollo,” said Gowrappan, “the past two quarters of double-digit growth have demonstrated our ability to transform our media ecosystem. With Apollo’s sector expertise and strategic insight, Yahoo will be well positioned to capitalise on market opportunities, media and transaction experience and continue to grow our full stack digital advertising platform.”
Verizon Media is currently comprised of ad tech and media platform businesses, including Yahoo and AOL.
“We are thrilled to help unlock the tremendous potential of Yahoo and its unparalleled collection of brands,” said Reed Rayman, private equity partner at Apollo. “We have enormous respect and admiration for the great work and progress that the entire organisation has made over the last several years, and we look forward to working with Guru, his talented team, and our partners at Verizon to accelerate Yahoo’s growth in its next chapter.”
Verizon CEO, Hans Vestberg added: “The next iteration [of Verizon Media] requires full investment and the right resources. During the strategic review process, Apollo delivered the strongest vision and strategy for the next phase of Verizon Media. I have full confidence that Yahoo will take off in its new home.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon will receive US$4.25 billion (A$5.48 billion) in cash, preferred interests of US$750 million (A$967 million) and retain a 10% stake in Verizon Media.
In 2019, Seven West Media announced the finalisation of the sale of its 50% interest in Yahoo7 to Verizon Media, a venture which began in 2006 and included the 7News website, 7Sport, Yahoo Finance as well as entertainment destination Be, and email portal Yahoo7 Mail.
Bauer Media was also purchased through private equity last year, by Mercury Capital, the company since being rebranded as Are Media.
Verizon Media Australia was contacted for comment, but had not responded at the time of publishing.
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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