Even the most transient millennial remembers the day when the internet was dominated by either AOL or the just-as-good Yahoo. The former ceased to be relevant years ago, and the latter is set to do the same with a fresh buyer.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Verizon is nearing a finalized deal to purchase Yahoo’s internet operations. The agreement would see almost $5 billion flow from Verizon’s coffers to Yahoo’s for the right to absorb the company’s core business operations, and while two unnamed sources told NYT that the deal isn’t yet done and remains open to other bids, it would appear that Verizon is the frontrunner for Yahoo’s digital pedigree.
“In order to maintain the integrity of the process, we won’t be commenting until an agreement is finalized,” a Yahoo spokesperson said, via NYT.
Whether the deal goes through or not, Verizon would appear to have the necessary capital, with a market cap of more than $228 billion. Even so, $5 billion for Yahoo’s internet operations is a steal for the telecom giant, especially considering Verizon would assume control of portals like Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Sports (and its sizable fantasy football base) and, possibly most importantly, the microblogging platform Tumblr.
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