Verizon to Sell AOL & Yahoo
The main story
Verizon is officially leaving the media business after announcing the sale of Yahoo and AOL’s for a combined $5 billion.
Purchased five years ago, Verizon was unable to make profits running either business.
The sale to private equity firm Apollo Global Management will see the two purchased companies operate under the Yahoo flagship name.
Brands such as TechCrunch and Engadget are also included due to prior AOL acquisitions.
Yahoo and AOL were both spearheaded by Verizon’s CEO at the time, Lowell McAdam, to compete with Google and Facebook’s hold in the advertising space.
Teachable Moment
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. It definitely hurts more when you’re playing with billions, but the repercussions can be seen at any level.
Verizon tried to play in an unfamiliar space instead of focusing on its core business model.
Lofty ideas and goals can be exciting but can be equally cannibalizing and waste precious time.
Think about this when working on new projects or ideas your team might have.
Are the risks worth the reward, or will you have to pay the bill when the time comes?
