Verizon closes Yahoo deal, CEO Marissa Mayer resigns

As of today, Verizon is officially the owner of Yahoo. Verizon has completed its acquisition of Yahoo Inc. for $4.5 billion, which coupled with AOL has a reach of more than 1 billion consumers.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is resigning after the closing of the deal. “Given the inherent changes to Marissa Mayer’s role with Yahoo resulting from the closing of the transaction, Mayer has chosen to resign from Yahoo,”  Verizon said in a statement. “Verizon wishes Mayer well in her future endeavors."

Verizon had not yet made a decision about what role if any Mayer would have after the deal closes. Armstrong will lead the integration, it added.

Mayer exits Yahoo with stock holdings worth more than $200  million. “It’s been my great honor and privilege to be a part of this team for the last five years,” Mayer wrote in a post on Tumblr. “Together, we have rebuilt, reinvented, strengthened, and modernized our products, our business, and our company." Mayer led the acquisition of Tumblr for $1.1 billion in 2013, her biggest acquisition as CEO of Yahoo; the company eventually wrote off more than half the value ascribed to Tumblr.

During Mayer's term, Yahoo was hit by two of the biggest security breaches, including the theft of information of more than  1 billion user accounts. The hacks led Verizon to cut $350 million from the purchase price of Yahoo's Internet advertising.

The merged AOL-Yahoo organization will be called Oath, comprising more than 50 media and technology brands. Tim Armstrong, previously CEO of AOL, is now CEO of Oath, which is part of Verizon’s Media and Telematics division.