Verizon on Monday announced a deal to buy the search engine pioneer Yahoo for $4.8 billion, granting Verizon over one billion total monthly search users in conjunction with another large internet advertising network that it will be adding to the AOL network.
Combined, the companies will hold 25 media and advertising brands, and will have an email service with 225 million monthly active users.
Both companies are Apple partners: Verizon is one of the largest iPhone carriers in the world, while Yahoo is a default search engine on Apple products and its data is still used in the iPhone's native Stocks app. The iOS Weather app was also provided by Yahoo up until the release of iOS 8.
The sale comes at the end of a year of speculation, and preparations for a possible sale for Yahoo. In March, Yahoo laid off 1000 and closed offices in Dubai, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Madrid, and Milan to consolidate costs, and prepare for a sale or split of the company.
The sale is not for the entirety of Yahoo, and does not include Yahoo's cash, shares in Alibaba Group Holdings, shares in Yahoo Japan, other investments, and Yahoo's patent portfolio not related to search and advertising. The assets not transferred to Verizon will continue to be held by Yahoo, which will change its name at closing and transition into becoming an investment company.
The deal supplements the AOL purchase in May 2015, and further extends Verizon's already large advertising network. The AOL deal also delivered a number of major news websites to Verizon, including Engadget, the Huffington Post, and TechCrunch, along with a larger "multiple screen" media strategy. The AOL purchase was also responsible for the closure of Apple enthusiast site TUAW.
The deal is subject to traditional closing restrictions, including regulatory approvals, and Yahoo shareholder approval. Verizon expects the deal to finalize in the first quarter of 2017.