Following several years of declining revenues and profit, Seven West Media has today sold its 50% stake in Yahoo7 to Verizon’s ‘Oath’. The deal sees the departure of several senior executives, including Chief Executive Officer Ed Harrison.
The transaction will finalise in August, and sees the exit of Yahoo7 CFO, Penny Diamantakiou, Chief Trade Officer, Paul Russell, and Director of Product, Mark Robinson.
Paul Sigaloff, Yahoo7 Chief Revenue Officer, has been appointed Oath’s Managing Director.
The news follows Verizon’s US$4.8 billion takeover of Oath last year – one many speculated would end the partnership with Seven West Media. Completed last year, Oath combined Yahoo and AOL.
Both Sigaloff and Harrison have reportedly been with Yahoo7 since 2014, following tenure at Fairfax Media.
Commencing their joint-venture in 2006, Yahoo and Seven West Media aimed to develop a notable web presence, one to rival the likes of Nine MSN.
At current, Yahoo7’s website portfolio includes; its homepage, 7Sport, 7News, Be and Yahoo Finance. The company also has its email portal Yahoo 7 Mail.
In Australia, Oath currently operates HuffPost and ONE by AOL.
The news follows recent lay-offs at Yahoo7, which a press release claimed was restructuring to “harness the power of world-leading Oath technology”.
Seven West Media Chief Executive Officer, Tim Worner, claims the sale will allow Seven to better control the monetisation of its digital products.
Worner asserts Yahoo7 is being given to Oath in “great shape” with an audience of around nine million.
Oath Head of Asia Pacific, Rose Tsou, states the simplification of its ANZ operations provides a “huge amount of opportunity for growth” for its “house of brands and technology platforms”.
Further details about the transaction will reportedly be disclosed after settlement.
