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US telecoms firm Verizon Communications has confirmed it is buying internet giant Yahoo in a deal worth $4.83 billion (£3.66bn).
The deal, which was first rumoured last week, was officially announced by Verizon on July 25.
Verizon called the cash-acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, a "definitive agreement". Both companies said as long as the takeover gets approved it should be complete by the end of the first quarter in 2017.
The deal will see Yahoo being incorporated with AOL, which Verizon purchased in 2015.
"The sale of our operating business, which effectively separates our Asian asset equity stakes, is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo," Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's CEO said.
"This transaction also sets up a great opportunity for Yahoo to build further distribution and accelerate our work in mobile, video, native advertising and social.”
While the deal will include Yahoo's operation business, it will not include the entire of the company's assets. It does not include Yahoo's cash, shares in Alibaba, or its shares in Yahoo Japan. "These assets will continue to be held by Yahoo, which will change its name at closing and become a registered, publicly traded investment company," a statement said.
The confirmation, ends a long bidding process for Yahoo, which was put up for sale in February when chief executive officer Marissa Mayer created an independent committee to "explore strategic alternatives".
The company was also said to be looking at cutting 1,700 of its staff and shutting foreign offices and some of the digital magazines it owned.
Under the leadership of Mayer the company has attempted to revive its fortunes, but has continued to fall behind rivals such as Google.
Funnily enough, other potential buyers of the company include Google, as well as Time Inc. It is expected that any takeover of Yahoo will involve a publisher taking over its news and publishing business.
In April this year, the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), which owns the newspaper and MailOnline, was rumoured to be speaking with private equity firms about a possible takeover.
In December Yahoo scrapped plans to spin-off its stake in Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce firm. Instead the firm decided to create a new company which contained everything but its shares in Alibaba.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
