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After Breach, Verizon Drops Yahoo Purchase Price by $350M

Verizon's acquisition of Yahoo is now valued at approximately $4.48 billion, down from $4.8 billion.

 & Chloe Albanesius Executive Editor, News

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Yahoo's massive data breach has officially caused more than customer headaches.

Verizon has reduced its purchase price of Yahoo by $350 million due to Yahoo's security breaches, the companies announced today. Verizon's acquisition of Yahoo is now valued at approximately $4.48 billion in cash, down from $4.8 billion.

In a statement, the companies said "Verizon and Yahoo will share certain legal and regulatory liabilities arising from certain data breaches incurred by Yahoo."

Specifically, Yahoo will be responsible for 50 percent of any cash fines handed down by the feds (other than the Securities and Exchange Commission) or incurred in lawsuits. Yahoo is still on the hook for shareholder lawsuits and SEC investigations.

"The amended terms of the agreement provide a fair and favorable outcome for shareholders. It provides protections for both sides and delivers a clear path to close the transaction in the second quarter," Marni Walden, Verizon executive vice president and president of Product Innovation and New Businesses, said in a statement.

Verizon announced plans to acquire Yahoo's "operating business" in July. Two months later, Yahoo confirmed that data associated with least 500 million user accounts was stolen in a 2014 breach of its network. In December, Yahoo announced that more than one billion Yahoo accounts were hacked. That hack occurred in August 2013, and compromised names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, passwords, and security questions and answers.

At the time, Yahoo also said it was investigating reports of forged cookies that may be connected to the hack announced in September. This month, Yahoo started notifying users affected by those forged cookies.

About Our Expert

Chloe Albanesius

Chloe Albanesius

Executive Editor, News

My Experience

I started out covering tech policy in DC for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag's news coverage.

My Areas of Expertise

Getting my start in DC means I still have a soft spot for tech policy; Congressional hearings can sometimes be as entertaining as a Bravo reality show, for better or worse. But PCMag is all about the technology we use every day, as well as keeping an eye out for the trends that will shape the industry in the years ahead (or flop on arrival). I've covered the rise of social media, the iOS vs. Android wars, the cord-cutting revolution that's now left us with hefty streaming bills, and the effort to stuff artificial intelligence into every product you could imagine. This job has taken me to CES in Vegas (one too many times), IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona. I also drove a Tesla 1,000 miles out west as part of our Best Mobile Networks project. Of late, my focus is on our hard-working team of reporters at PCMag, guiding and editing their robust coverage.

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