US: Yahoo shareholders approve sale to Verizon

By Barry Eitel

SAN FRANCISCO (AA) – Yahoo’s shareholders on Thursday officially approved the $4.5 billion sale of the company’s core Internet business to Verizon.

The deal is scheduled to close June 13.

Yahoo’s Internet business, which includes its email platform and search engine, will be merged with AOL, acquired by Verizon in 2015, into a new division called Oath.

As part of the merger, sources have told several media outlets about 15 percent of the global workforce of Yahoo and AOL will be laid off.

As many as 2,100 employees could be dismissed because of job redundancies between the two entities.

“Consistent with what we have said since the deal was announced, we will be aligning our global organization to the strategy," AOL wrote in a statement. "Oath's strategy is to lead the global brand space. With access to over one billion consumers upon close, we will be positioned to drive one of the most important platforms in the consumer brand space."

AOL’s chief executive, Tim Armstrong, will lead Oath, while current Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is not expected to be part of the new division.

Yahoo and Verizon announced the deal last July before revealations Yahoo was hit by two of the largest data breaches in history.

Verizon agreed to still acquire the core Internet business, but knocked $350 million off the originally negotiated price in February.

The only pieces of Yahoo left after the deal goes through next week include a 15 percent stake in Chinese online retailer Alibaba and a 36 percent stake in Yahoo Japan, which is also co-owned by Japanese software company SoftBank.

After June 13, the remainders of Yahoo will constitute a new investment company that will rename itself Altaba.

Shares of Yahoo rose more than 10 percent on Thursday amid the news, closing at $55.71. Verizon stock dipped about 0.7 percent to $46.19.