Verizon has finally concluded its acquisition of Yahoo. The company announce the completion of the deal today. The acquisition has led to the creation of Oath, a combined AOL-Yahoo entity that will now be led by erstwhile AOL CEO Tim Armstrong. Unsurprisingly, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has tendered her resignation.
Announcing the deal and Mayer’s resignation, Verizon said:
Given the inherent changes to Marissa Mayer’s role with Yahoo resulting from the closing of the transaction, Mayer has chosen to resign from Yahoo. Verizon wishes Mayer well in her future endeavors.
Mayer has received a hefty, $23 million as part of her exit package for co-operating with the acquisition. In a Tumblr post titled Nostalgia, Gratitude and Optimism, Mayer said:
323 days ago, we announced that Verizon would be acquiring Yahoo’s operating business. Today, I can announce that the transaction has officially closed. While reaching this moment has certainly been a long road traveled, it marks the end of an era for Yahoo, as well as the beginning of a new chapter – it’s an emotional time for all of us. Given the inherent changes to my role, I’ll be leaving the company. However, I want all of you to know that I’m brimming with nostalgia, gratitude, and optimism.
Meanwhile, this certainly is a sombre moment for all of us. Yahoo was one of the pioneers of the modern Internet and it was a platform, we once turned to as we today turn to Google. The Verizon takeover and the consequent merger with AOL is also a clear sign of the consolidation taking place in the space as media entities acquire other companies in a bid to consolidate audience.
See, online media is not very profitable unless you are playing ball on a huge level. By huge, I mean you won’t likely even start deriving substantial profits unless you have 10s of thousands of daily visitors. As such, consolidation only makes sense.
Speaking on the acquisition, Marni Walden, Verizon president of Media and Telematics, said:
The close of this transaction represents a critical step in growing the global scale needed for our digital media company. The combined set of assets across Verizon and Oath, from VR to AI, 5G to IoT, from content partnerships to originals, will create exciting new ways to captivate audiences across the globe.
Most of Yahoo’s board has already tendered its registration and layoffs are expected at the merged entity, As to who keeps their job and who doesn’t, remains to be seen.
