Verizon is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to purchase Yahoo’s core internet business for $5 billion. The telecommunications giant, which bought AOL last year for $4.4 billion, has long been considered the favorite to win the bidding for Yahoo’s business, which reportedly also included about four other companies and private equity firms.
The two may be ready to announce the deal in the coming days, according to Bloomberg’s sources familiar with the matter, though they warn the agreement hasn’t been finalized yet so it may still fall apart. Verizon's bid to buy Yahoo's reportedly includes the company’s core business and real estate assets, but not the intellectual property portfolio.
With the wireless industry maturing, Verizon hopes video services and online advertising will be a new area of growth, and it’s been buying up the technology to that end. The company reportedly plans to combine customer data from smartphones with advertising inventory on AOL and Yahoo to create an ad platform that can rival Facebook and Google.
Verizon had a market cap of roughly $225 billion and about $4.5 billion in cash on its balance sheet at the end of the first quarter. The company is also expected to be an active bidder in upcoming spectrum auctions.
Other reported bidders for Yahoo include AT&T, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, Vector Capital Management and private investment firm TPG.
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