NEW YORK, July 24 (UPI) — Verizon Communications will announce plans to acquire Yahoo for around $4.8 billion, possibly by Monday morning, business news websites reported Sunday.
The announcement of the purchase of Yahoo’s core assets will take place before the financial markets open, a source told Bloomberg.
Recode reportedthe decision could possibly come later than Monday. Yahoo told its other bidders, private equity firm TPG and a group led by Quicken Loans’ Dan Gilbert, that Verizon was the winner of the four-month takeover process.
The deal includes Yahoo real estate assets and the patents are to be sold separately, the source told Bloomberg. Yahoo’s stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Yahoo Japan Corp. are not part of the deal with Verizon.
Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni and Yahoo spokeswoman Rebecca Neufeld declined to comment.
Verizon, the largest cellphone provider in the United States, wants to compete with Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook in digital ads with sites that include Yahoo Finance. Verizon bought AOL, which includes the Huffington Post and TechCrunch, a year ago for $4.4 billion. Yahoo also owns Flickr and Tumblr.
“The deal speaks to a clear strategy shift at Verizon,” Craig Moffett, an analyst with MoffettNathanson, told Bloomberg. “They are trying to monetize wireless in an entirely new way. Instead of charging customers for traffic, they are turning to charging advertisers for eyeballs.”
The takeover likely will end the reign of Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, who failed to re-invent Yahoo as an independent company.
Yahoo gained 1.4 percent to close at $39.38 Friday after Bloomberg reported the deal with Verizon was near. Shares of Verizon increased 1.3 percent to $56.10.
Microsoft failed to buy Yahoo in 2008.
Yahoo is based in Sunnyvale, Calif, with nearly 4,000 employees in the area — about half of its worldwide staff.
Verizon’s operations headquarters are in Basking Ridge, N.J., and it has 173,000 employees worldwide.
