Verizon buys AOL holding, along with publications and an advertising platform for $ 4.4 billion

    AOL Media Holding will be sold to Verizon for $ 4.4 billion. She will buy back AOL shares at $ 50 apiece. This is 23% higher than the average weighted value of AOL shares over the past three months. Verizon will also own TechCrunch , Engadget, and The Huffington Post . Verizon is one of the largest telecom operators in the USA.

    The transaction contributes to the development of such areas of the company as broadcasting video via LTE and the Internet of things. In addition, Verizon will have at its disposal an AOL advertising platform. Her valuation is $ 600 million. According to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, the immediate goal is to bring together users, content producers and advertisers on a global cross-screen network platform.

    AOL CEO Tim Armstrong will continue to manage the company after the merger, according to a Verizon press release. Armstrong notes that the holding should become a leader in the segment of the market for mobile device users. This will allow AOL to take a new step in its development.

    About a third of the company's revenue comes from Internet access services. In the past, AOL was one of the largest Internet access providers in the United States. According to the company, in the early 2000s, the AOL modem Internet had over 25 million subscribers. More than 2.16 million customers now use the AOL modem Internet.

    Against the background of news about the holding’s purchase, the price of AOL shares in preliminary trading rose by 18%. Verizon shares fell 0.8%.

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