Verizon Extends Its Digital Reach

After months of speculations, Yahoo has finally found a buyer for its core business. As both companies confirmed today, Verizon will acquire Yahoo’s content and advertising assets for $4.83 billion in an all-cash deal.

A little more than a year after Verizon acquired AOL (including well-known online media brands such as TechCrunch, Engadget and Huffington Post), today’s deal further bolsters Verizon’s reach in the digital world. According to internal metrics, Yahoo’s online properties reach a global audience of more than 1 billion users a month – an audience that Verizon plans to monetize using advertising technology acquired in both the AOL and Yahoo deals.

Considering that Verizon’s primary fields of operation, i.e. fixed-line and mobile telephony as well as broadband internet services have matured and offer limited growth potential, the company clearly seeks ways to diversify its business and find new revenue sources. With AOL and Yahoo, Verizon now owns two of the largest online content networks in the United States and worldwide, along with the advertising solutions to take advantage of their newly acquired reach in the online world.