AMERICAN telecoms giant Verizon has bought over technology company Yahoo for £3.7 billion.
The deal will include Yahoo's email service and news, finance and sports websites, photo storage site Flickr and its advertising tools.
Yahoo has saw its performance in the marketplace slip over the last eight years, losing valuable ground to the likes of Facebook and Google.
The one-time forerunner of the internet market has been under increasing pressure from shareholders following its fall from grace, marking last year with a £3.4 billion loss.
The deal will see Yahoo being paired with AOL, which Verizon bought last year for £3.4 billion, creating what it calls a “mobile media giant.”
Lowell McAdam, Verizon's chairman and chief executive, spoke of big prospects for the company’s future.
"Just over a year ago we acquired AOL to enhance our strategy of providing a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers,” he said.
"The acquisition of Yahoo will put Verizon in a highly competitive position as a top global mobile media company, and help accelerate our revenue stream in digital advertising."
Some of Yahoo’s assets will be protected, however, from an all out takeover.
Yahoo's cash, its shares in Alibaba Group Holdings and Yahoo Japan, plus a portfolio of patents, will continue to be held by Yahoo, but it will change its name and begin trading as an investment company.
Yahoo chief executive Melissa Mayer sees the deal as a new beginning for the company.
"Yahoo is a company that has changed the world, and will continue to do so through this combination with Verizon and AOL,” she said.
"This transaction also sets up a great opportunity for Yahoo to build further distribution and accelerate our work in mobile, video, native advertising and social."
