Verizon And Yahoo Agree To Revised Deal, Cutting $350 Million From Acquisition Price

Verizon Communications Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. said on Tuesday they have reached a revised agreement that will see Verizon buy the internet company's business in a deal valued at approximately $4.48 billion, cutting the initial cost by $350 million. "We have always believed this acquisition makes strategic sense," said Marni Walden, Verizon's president of Product Innovation and New Businesses, 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." The revised deal comes after months of speculation as whether talks would break down amidst revelations of two data breaches at Yahoo. Under the amended terms of the deal, the data breaches, or losses from them will not be taken into account in determining whether a "business material adverse effect" has occurred or whether certain closing conditions have been satisfied, according to a news release. Walden said the two companies expect the deal to close in the second quarter. Verizon shares have declined 3% in the trailing 12-month period, while Yahoo shares have gained 50% and the S&P 500 Index is up more than 22%.