Verizon reportedly looking for way out of bid to buy Yahoo
After it was revealed over 1 billion Yahoo accounts were hacked in 2013, the wireless carrier is reportedly looking for a lower price -- or even a way out.
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In July, Verizon moved to acquire the longtime internet fixture Yahoo in a $4.83 billion deal. Now, after the revelation of a second gargantuan hack of user accounts, Verizon is reportedly seeking to lower the price of that deal -- or even to back out altogether.
Verizon's potential exit from the still-pending Yahoo purchase has been in the works since the first revelation of a major hack of the Yahoo user database back in September, reported Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources.
At that time, Verizon's general counsel suggested the hack was a "material event" that would have kept Verizon from spending as much as it did, or anything at all. Reports suggested that Verizon was seeking a discount of as much as $1 billion on the deal.
On Wednesday, Yahoo said it was hit by yet another hacking attack, this time affecting more than 1 billion user accounts. That's double the number affected by a hack revealed in September.
A Yahoo spokesperson said the company is confident in its value and will continue to work towards integration with Verizon.
The wireless carrier declined to comment beyond a statement issued last night. "As we've said all along, we will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation. We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions."
This is a developing story.