Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) finalized its acquisition of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) Tuesday.
As expected, the deal is worth $4.5 billion and it also puts an end to Marissa Mayer’s problematic five-year tenure as CEO of Yahoo. Her official resignation was announced alongside the completion of the deal.
Yahoo’s assets will be added to Verizon under the name of Oath, which includes 50 global brands that reach 1 billion people around the globe, including TechCrunch, Flickr, Tumblr.
Former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong will be the new boss of the Oath brand, and there’s no animosity behind Mayer’s departure as both parties took to social media to wish the other well.
Despite Yahoo’s recent struggles, it’s worth noting that Mayer achieved plenty during her tenure, including building the company into one of three Internet companies with over a billion users and expanding its monthly mobile user base to more than 650 million. She’ll leave with a $23 million golden parachute.
Marni Walden, Verizon president of Media and Telematics (including Oath), noted that the acquisition will help boost the company’s role as a digital media company, beyond its capabilities as a carrier.
“The combined set of assets across Verizon and Oath, from VR to AI, 5G to IoT, from content partnerships to originals, will create exciting new ways to captivate audiences across the globe.”
VZ stock dipped 1.5% Tuesday, while YHOO shares slipped 0.5%.
