Yahoo agreed to slash the price of the pending acquisition of its internet business by Verizon by $350 million, paving the way to closing a transaction that has been marred by past data breaches at the internet pioneer.
Verizon agreed to purchase Yahoo’s internet business in July for $4.83 billion. But soon after the deal was announced, Yahoo revealed that it had lost hundreds of millions of email addresses and other customer information in a series of data breaches. That touched off an investigation into the matter by both companies. Last week, they were close to reaching a compromise, with reports estimating the deal price would be reduced by $250 million to $300 million.
In a statement Tuesday, Verizon said that it and Yahoo had agreed to reduce the price by $350 million. In addition, Verizon and Yahoo will share certain legal and regulatory liabilities arising from certain data breaches incurred by Yahoo.
“We have always believed this acquisition makes strategic sense,” said Verizon executive VP and president of product innovation and new businesses Marni Walden in a statement. “We look forward to moving ahead expeditiously so that we can quickly welcome Yahoo’s tremendous talent and assets into our expanding portfolio in the digital advertising space.”
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