US: Verizon takes 60% cut to Yahoo discount

Verizon Communications sought almost triple the price reduction that it has ultimately obtained for Yahoo’s core assets following two massive cyber attacks at the internet company, according to a Yahoo filing.

The closing of the deal, which Verizon first announced in July for a purchase price of $4.83 billion, had been delayed as the companies assessed the fallout from two data breaches that Yahoo disclosed last year. The leading US wireless carrier had been trying to persuade Yahoo to amend the terms of the agreement following the attacks.

In early February, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam told Yahoo director Tom McInerney a price reduction as high as $925 million could be appropriate, according to the filing. McInerney later told McAdam at a meeting in Verizon’s New York offices that Yahoo’s board was unwilling to agree to such a big discount.

Verizon said in late February it had agreed to a purchase price of $4.48 billion, lowering its original offer by $350 million.

A Verizon spokesman declined to comment on why the company agreed to a lower discount than it had originally sought.

Full Content: CNBC

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.