Verizon (NYSE:VZ) isn’t happy with Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) amid a flurry of bad news hitting the company. Remember, Verizon agreed to acquire Yahoo’s media properties for $4.8 billion earlier this year.
Verizon’s beefs are two-fold. Last month, Yahoo revealed that hackers had stolen personal information from more than 500 million accounts, which was one of the largest data breaches in history. Perhaps the worst part is the breach occurred in late 2014, yet was only announced to the public in September.
News outlets also reported this week that Yahoo allowed the U.S. government to spy on user emails for intelligence data, which outraged many users. The news was a major blow to Yahoo’s already tarnished reputation.
In light of this new information, it’s being reported Verizon is getting cold feet--specifically about the price paid for the assets. Execs are fishing for a $1-billion discount.
One source told the New York Post "In the last day we’ve heard that Tim [Armstrong, head of AOL, Verizon’s media division] is getting cold feet. He’s pretty upset about the lack of disclosure and he’s saying can we get out of this or can we reduce the price."
Armstrong has reportedly flown out to Yahoo’s headquarters in Sunnyvale to meet with execs. Yahoo, naturally, is reportedly remaining firm on its price.
Yahoo shares are slumping on this news, falling $0.51 or 1.17% to $43.17 in Friday’s trading.
