Verizon to acquire Yahoo core assets for $4.8 billion

Verizon will soon be announcing its acquisition of Yahoo’s core assets for a mere $4.8 billion, a sad amount that the iconic company, once valued at $125 billion, is happy to settle for.

The sale only covers Yahoo’s core assets, which means the company will retain its stake in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan Corp., which is still estimated by Bloomberg to be worth $40 billion, reports Gizmodo.

Yahoo has a had a long history of missed opportunities that may have contributed to its current predicament. Back in 1997, it turned down the chance to buy Google, now valued at $530 billion, for a mere $1 billion and again in 2002.

It also passed up on buying Facebook for yet another $1 billion back in 2006. Facebook is now valued at $350 billion.

Current CEO Marissa Mayer, who took seat in 2012, was also unable to stop the corrosion that had eaten away at the company. During her time, Yahoo acquired 53 different companies of which 41 were eventually shut down.

Mayer is now expected to resign but is said to be taking home a very hefty severance pay of $57 million.  Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

Yahoo buying binge continues with Vizify takeover

SAN FRANCISCO—Yahoo on Wednesday added Vizify to the long list of startups it has bought since former Google executive Marissa Mayer took the helm less than two years ago.

The company did not disclose how much it paid for Vizify, which specializes in letting people turn their social media data into videos, infograpics or other visual presentations.

“We have found in Vizify a company that shares our passion for visualization technology and the user experience,” Yahoo said.

Founded in 2011, Vizify is based in Portland, Oregon. Its five-member team will join Yahoo’s media product group in San Francisco.

“As for what’s next, we can’t talk specifics just yet, but we’re excited to bring a more visual approach to data at Yahoo,” the Vizify team said in a post on the company’s website.

“We have a lot more up our sleeves and can’t wait to get started.”

Over 2 dozen startups

Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo has bought more than two dozen startups as Mayer tries to pump new life into the aging Internet pioneer eclipsed by Silicon Valley neighbor Google.

Last month, Yahoo acquired Wander, which makes smartphone visual diary-app Days.

The Days app, launched a year ago, lets people weave images captured at various moments into “visual diaries” of any given days in their lives.

The Wander team will go to work in Yahoo offices in New York as the company adds more muscle to its efforts to be center stage on smartphones and tablet computers.

Since taking charge of Yahoo in July 2012, Mayer has made a priority of tailoring products and services for smartphones and tablets with an aim at becoming part of people’s daily habits in the mobile age.

She has also shown a penchant for buying startups to add talented members of their teams to the Yahoo workforce.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Yahoo buys smartphone diary-app maker Wander

SAN FRANCISCO—Yahoo on Tuesday added the startup behind smartphone visual diary-app Days to its list of acquisitions as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to pump new life into the aging Internet pioneer.

Financial terms of the deal to buy New York City-based Wander were not disclosed, but technology news website TechCrunch put the value at more than $10 million.

The Days app, launched in March of last year, lets people weave images captured at various moments into “visual diaries” of any given days in their lives.

The Wander team will go to work in Yahoo offices in New York City as the California-based company adds more muscle to its efforts to be center-stage on smartphones and tablet computers.

“The Days app will live on as a standalone entity, and we’ll also be working on some exciting new projects that we can’t talk about just yet,” the startup said in a blog post announcing the acquisition.

30 firms bought since mid-2012

Yahoo has bought nearly 30 companies since former Google executive Mayer took the helm in mid-2012.

She has made a priority of tailoring products and services for smartphones and tablets with an aim at becoming part of people’s daily habits in the mobile age.

Revitalizing Yahoo will take ‘multiple years” with the company now working to stabilize the business, Mayer said during an on-stage chat Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs technology and Internet conference here.

Mayer said that she is “happy” with its deal to let Microsoft search engine Bing handle the job of crawling and indexing the web for searches at Yahoo sites.

She sees opportunity in tapping into the power of mobile devices to tune search results that take into account where people are, what they may be doing and their habits.

“We are long on search; it should be no surprise,” Mayer said. “There is a lot we can offer in the search space beyond core search.”

Yahoo pioneered online search but set out to re-invent itself after being overshadowed by Silicon Valley rival Google.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Big ad atop Google results points to broken promise

SAN FRANCISCO – A large ad spied atop Google search results on Wednesday was seen as evidence that the Internet titan was breaking a promise that it would never resort to the tactic.

A picture fired off at the Twitter account of digital marketing company Synrgy prompted reports that Google is experimenting in the United States with “banner ads” atop results for searches targeting brands.

The move appeared to break a vow made about eight years ago by then Google executive Marissa Mayer, who is now chief of Yahoo.

“There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage of Web search results pages,” Mayer said in a blog post that remained available online Wednesday.

“There will not be crazy, flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping up all over the Google site. Ever.”

Synrgy reported that a Google search targeting Southwest Airlines delivered results topped with a large ad showing a promotional photo accompanied by links for reservations or other services at the company.

Technology news website Search Engine Land quoted a Google spokesman as confirming the banner ads were part of a “small test” taking place in the US market.

Google did not respond to AFP requests for comment.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Yahoo acquires ad-service, URL-shortner Bread

WASHINGTON – Yahoo said Saturday that it acquired tech company Bread, a URL shortener that allows users to design then target advertisements to readers who click on their links.

“Through this acquisition, we’re gaining a team of six engineers and product managers who will join our advertising technology organization in Sunnyvale,” a Yahoo spokesperson said.



Bread, which has already been shuttered, allowed users to make and insert ads that people clicking through to a shortened link’s webpage would have to view, according to media.

“When we launched Bread in 2011, our goal was to help social media influencers and publishers better monetize their online content,” the company said in a statement.

All Bread links will be viable until November 11, at which point the company says users should switch to another URL shortener, bit.ly.

Yahoo has been undergoing major changes since former Google executive Marissa Mayer became boss just over a year ago, notably acquiring what is now more than 20 startups including the billion-dollar buy of blog platform Tumblr.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Yahoo CEO says company now has 800 million users

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer says the Internet company now has about 800 million worldwide users, a 20 percent increase since she was lured away from Google 15 months ago to steer a turnaround.

The gain disclosed Wednesday at a technology conference in San Francisco is the latest evidence of the progress that Yahoo Inc. is making under Mayer’s leadership. The Sunnyvale, California, company’s stock has nearly doubled since Mayer came aboard, though she and analysts say that gain primarily stems from the value of Yahoo’s holdings in China’s rapidly growing Alibaba Group.

Mayer says the figure for the 800 million Yahoo users doesn’t include the traffic that the company has picked up from its $1.1 billion acquisition of Internet blogging service Tumblr earlier this year.

Despite the increased traffic, Yahoo is still struggling to boost its online advertising revenue — the main way that the company makes money. In recent quarters, Yahoo’s ad revenue has been barely rising while Google and another rival, Facebook Inc., have been thriving.

Mayer says she believes it her strategy for accelerating Yahoo’s revenue growth will require at least three years to unfold.

Yahoo’s stock shed 29 cents Wednesday to close at $29.19.

source: technology.inquirer.net