New information has emerged as to what's next for Yahoo, the once-great web giant, after its acquisition by Verizon closes once and for all.
Yahoo will be brought under a new company called Oath along with AOL and other brands. Business Insider first reported the Oath name, and it was later confirmed by AOL boss Tim Armstrong.
Billion+ Consumers, 20+ Brands, Unstoppable Team. #TakeTheOath. Summer 2017. pic.twitter.com/tM3Ac1Wi36April 3, 2017
Yahoo as a brand will continue to exist, a source familiar with the matter tells TechRadar, only now under the new company. Verizon hasn't indicated it plans to shutter such mainstays as Yahoo Mail, Finance or Sports, which along with other Yahoo properties have over one billion users.
As Armstrong noted in his tweet, Oath will actually encompass 20-plus brands. Daniel Roberts of Yahoo Finance describes Oath as a house of brands where Yahoo will live alongside other media entities, including AOL's TechCrunch and Engadget as well as the Huffington Post.
The bits of Yahoo that aren't carrying over in the transition will become part of a new investment company called Altaba. This company will include Yahoo's shares in Chinese e-retail powerhouse Alibaba and Yahoo Japan, and essentially serve as a shell firm to hold shares.
Thoughts on Oath?
The Verizon/Yahoo deal could close as early as the end of April, with Oath's launch slated for the summer.
Yahoo's acquisition as been anything but smooth, thanks largely to two massive data breaches that came to light late last year and called the whole deal into question. While those incidents devalued Yahoo, Verizon hasn't jumped ship yet.
Whether the world takes to Oath is another matter. While the aforementioned brands will live on under Oath's umbrella, the Twittersphere wasted no time jumping in with opinions on the name.
Oath. Millions upon millions upon millions of dollars, and you come up with Oath. Oath. pic.twitter.com/4ni5i1svnnApril 3, 2017
Oath is the name of the evil tech company in the sci-fi story you wrote in 7th gradeApril 3, 2017
@timarmstrongaol what were the 2nd and 3rd place names? @verizon @AOL_Inc @Yahoo #oath #TakeTheOath 🤷🏻♂️April 3, 2017
Lol, Oath.April 3, 2017
The reaction has been harsh, to say the least, though perhaps we'll learn more on Oath's origins when the company officially launches. So far, fans of the new name, if there are any, have kept quiet.
One last bit on today's Oath news: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will not be part of the new company, as reported by Recode. This comes as no surprise given her inability to turn Yahoo's fortunes around and the hacking scandals, and it appears her departure will soon be official.
