Who owns Yahoo now?

Yahoo was originally founded in 1994 by Jerry Yang and David Filo as “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web”. It started off as a web portal and search engine, eventually expanding into other internet services and media. Yahoo went through various ownership changes over the years before being acquired by Verizon in 2017.

Yahoo’s Early Years of Growth

In the early days, Yang and Filo realized they needed business help to turn Yahoo into a profitable company. They brought on board Tim Koogle as CEO in 1995. Koogle helped Yahoo grow exponentially in the late 1990s during the dot-com boom. By 1999, Yahoo was the largest web portal and search engine on the internet.

During this high growth period, Yahoo expanded internationally into Europe and Asia. They also accelerated acquisitions of other internet companies and technologies. Some of Yahoo’s major acquisitions in the 1990s included:

• 1995 – Acquired video website Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion
• 1997 – Acquired online bookseller Bookpages.co.uk which became Yahoo! Shopping
• 1997 – Acquired ClassicGames.com to expand into online games
• 1998 – Acquired web directory company Yoyodyne Entertainment for $30 million
• 1998 – Acquired online reviews site eGroups for $430 million

By the end of the 1990s, Yahoo was the dominant player in the still-nascent internet industry. Their market valuation reached a peak of $128 billion during the dot-com boom.

Ownership Changes in the 2000s

The bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2001 led to falling revenues and stock price for Yahoo. This led to some ownership changes in the 2000s decade.

In 2001, Terry Semel replaced Tim Koogle as Yahoo CEO. Semel spearheaded Yahoo’s media and content strategy in the 2000s, including a focus on acquiring other internet media companies.

Some of Yahoo’s major media acquisitions under Semel included:

• 2003 – Acquired online jobs site HotJobs for $436 million
• 2005 – Acquired photo sharing site Flickr for estimated $30 million
• 2007 – Acquired online advertising platform Right Media for $680 million
• 2008 – Acquired online video site Zimbra for $350 million

In 2008, Jerry Yang took over as CEO again, replacing Semel. But Yang stepped down in 2009 after struggles to turnaround the company. Carol Bartz was hired as the new CEO.

Acquisition by Verizon

In the early 2010s, Yahoo went through a period of decline under Carol Bartz’s leadership. Revenue continued to fall as Yahoo struggled to transition into the mobile internet era.

In 2012, Scott Thompson became CEO and began laying off over 2,000 employees in restructuring efforts. But Thompson himself was forced to resign within the year over controversy regarding a false claim on his resume.

Marissa Mayer was hired from Google as the new CEO in 2012. She focused on improving Yahoo’s media, mobile and advertising products. Some major acquisitions she made included:

• 2013 – Acquired social blogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion
• 2013 – Acquired online prediction market Inkling for $80 million
• 2014 – Acquired video advertising company BrightRoll for $640 million

However, Mayer was ultimately unable to turnaround Yahoo’s declining revenues. After 4 years, Verizon began acquisition talks with Yahoo in 2016.

In 2017, Verizon completed its acquisition of Yahoo’s core internet business for $4.48 billion. This ended Yahoo’s run as an independent company. Yahoo was combined with AOL under Verizon to form a new subsidiary called Oath.

Verizon sells Yahoo and AOL to Apollo

In 2021, Verizon sold off the Yahoo and AOL businesses to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion. The deal was closed in September 2021.

Yahoo and AOL are now owned by Apollo through a new company called Yahoo, which operates Yahoo, AOL, TechCrunch and other media brands.

So in summary:

• 1994 to 2017 – Yahoo was an independent public company, going through various ownership and leadership changes
• 2017 to 2021 – Owned by Verizon as part of Oath subsidiary
• From 2021 – Owned by Apollo Global Management as part of the new Yahoo company

Yahoo’s Major Acquisitions Over the Years

Here is a summary table of some of Yahoo’s biggest acquisitions through the years, before being sold to Verizon:

Yahoo’s Valuation Over the Years

Here is a chart showing how Yahoo’s market valuation changed over the decades:

Yahoo’s value peaked during the dotcom bubble before declining. It saw a recovery in the mid 2000s under Terry Semel before declining again in the 2010s, leading to the eventual Verizon acquisition.

Yahoo’s Core Business Offerings Over the Years

Here is a quick history of some of Yahoo’s major products and services over the decades:

• Mid 90s – Began as internet directory and search engine
• Late 90s – Expanded into news, email, shopping, travel booking, member communities, games and messaging
• 2000s – Focus on media and content with acquisitions of Flickr, Right Media, Zimbra etc
• 2010s – Attempted to move into mobile, video and social media before Verizon sale

Yahoo operated across web search, advertising services, content media and communications services at its peak. It struggled to compete as Google dominated search and Facebook became the leader in social media.

Conclusion

Yahoo has gone through an eventful history since the 1990s. After its peak valuation during the dotcom boom, Yahoo struggled to find direction in the 2000s as Google took over the search market. Attempts to move into social media and mobile failed to stop falling revenues.

In 2017, Yahoo’s core business was bought by Verizon as part of its Oath subsidiary. Then in 2021, Apollo Global Management acquired Yahoo and AOL’s media assets from Verizon. Yahoo now operates as part of Apollo’s new Yahoo company.

Yahoo’s story illustrates the rapid changes and challenges internet companies face in adapting to new technologies and competitors. But brands like Yahoo and AOL still hold value, as nostalgic names from the early commercial internet continue to attract users and advertisers today.