Verizon has sold its AOL and Yahoo properties to Apollo Global Management in a deal said to be worth $5 billion, about half of the nearly $9 billion Verizon originally paid for the pair. Verizon will maintain a 10 percent stake in the company, now known as Yahoo and led by CEO Guru Gowrappan. The deal, which includes Verizon’s ad tech business, was heavily rumored over the last week and still subject to closing conditions. Once complete, it’ll bring an end to Verizon’s troubled experiment with media production and advertising.
“We are thrilled to help unlock the tremendous potential of Yahoo and its unparalleled collection of brands,” said Apollo partner Reed Rayman. “We have enormous respect and admiration for the great work and progress that the entire organization 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.”