The acquisition of Yahoo by Verizon has been ongoing news since July of 2016, when it was announced that the deal was made at a price tag of $4.8 billion. In the meantime, the revelation of two major data breaches affecting 1.5 billion Yahoo users caused the deal to be put on hold. After the price was shaved down $350 million, the agreement is tentatively back on.
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Verizon has been spending some big bucks in the last few years. In a 2015 transaction, Verizon bought Internet pioneer AOL for $4.4 billion. Speculation for this purchase had to do with the fact the at some point, Verizon recognizes the need to “move their cheese.”
The wireless company has a huge number of mobile customers but eventually the market has to slow down. That is, unless you can lure people away from their current provider or sell them another device. Creating a new objective that establishes a monster digital brand is the next step.
An announcement came out today that hinted at a Yahoo and AOL marriage and parent company Verizon will be officiating at the wedding. The new Verizon company name will be Oath, a title that represents more than 20 brands. The following post by CNN Money provides the details:
Yahoo and AOL will form new company called … Oath – Apr. 3, 2017
Via Wikimedia CommonsYahoo (YAHOF) and AOL are expected to form a new company under Verizon called Oath. The new company is expected to launch this summer after Verizon’s (VZ, Tech30) acquisition of Yahoo is completed.Tim Armstrong, the head of AOL who helped spearhead the Yahoo acquisition, teased the new company’s launch in a tweet.“Billion+ Consumers, 20+ Brands, Unstoppable Team. #TakeTheOath. Summer 2017,” Armstrong wrote on Twitter. The new name was first reported by Business Insider.Read the original post here: Yahoo and AOL will form new company called … Oath – Apr. 3, 2017
The head of AOL, Tim Armstrong, tweeted out the announcement that has some people wondering. It remains to be seen as to why they chose the name Oath, but I’m sure that Verizon is hoping the hashtag #TakeTheOath will be trending:
Billion+ Consumers, 20+ Brands, Unstoppable Team. #TakeTheOath. Summer 2017.
The transition with Oath is expected to go through by this summer. It is still unsure as to how the Yahoo name will still fit into the mix. The investment holdings in Alibaba are part of the issue at point as well as the popularity of Yahoo’s core properties.
The next post from Market Watch offers more info on this topic:
Yahoo name game continues with ‘Oath: A Verizon Company’ – MarketWatch
Yahoo previously announced that the parts of the business Verizon is not acquiring — mostly Yahoo’s remaining investment in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA, +0.24% andPhoto from Wikimedia Commonsbillions in cash — would be renamed Altaba Inc. In both cases, some observers immediately took the name changes to mean that Yahoo’s heavily trafficked websites would be renamed.It is unlikely that Verizon plans to change the brand name on Yahoo’s core properties, however, because that could affect the number of people who still visit those sites and therefore ruin Verizon’s main reason for purchasing the business. Millions of people visit Yahoo’s core properties like Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News and Yahoo Finance, and changing the name could confuse users and drive them away.
One fact that is already decided is that current Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will not be part of the new venture once the deal closes. Initially it appeared that she wanted to see the transition through, but the new owners have determined that she and co-founder David Filo will no longer be on the board of directors. It will be interesting to watch how it all plays out and what path the new company will take.
Originally posted here: S&S Pro Blog
