Verizon tries to sell Yahoo and AOL after spending $9 billion on fallen giants

Enlarge / Yahoo logo at the 2014 International CES conference in Las Vegas. (credit: Getty Images | Ethan Miller )

Verizon is reportedly ready to give up on Yahoo and AOL after spending a combined $9 billion on the once-dominant Internet brands that fell from prominence years before Verizon bought them.

“Verizon is exploring a sale of assets including Yahoo and AOL, as the telecommunications giant looks to exit an expensive and unsuccessful bet on digital media,” The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The sale process involves private-equity firm Apollo Global Management and “could lead to a deal worth $4 billion to $5 billion,” the Journal wrote, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

We asked Verizon if it has a response to the WSJ report today, and a spokesperson told us the company has “nothing to add.”