Verizon reportedly wants a $1 billion discount on its current $4.8 billion purchase of Yahoo, following the recent revelation of a hack that exposed over 500 million user account details and several controversies surrounding the company and its CEO, Marissa Mayer.
“In the last day we’ve heard that [AOL boss] Tim [Armstong] 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?’” said a “source familiar with Verizon’s thinking” to the New York Post.
“Tim was out there this week laying the law down and [Yahoo CEO] Marissa [Mayer] is trying to protect shareholders,” said another source “close to the talks,” who also claims that Armstrong flew to the West Coast to meet with Yahoo executives. “Tim knows how to be fair, while Verizon is pushing him, he can bridge the gap.”
In September, Yahoo claimed that hackers had managed to steal over 500 million account details, including names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and security questions, while it was later claimed that CEO Marissa Mayer denied extra funding for the company’s digital security.
A federal lawsuit is also currently being filed against Mayer, claiming that the Yahoo CEO led an illegal purge of male employees from the company.
Verizon’s purchase of Yahoo is currently pending.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.