Seven has finalised the sale of its 50% interest in Yahoo7 to Verizon Media.
Seven, which will receive $20.75 million in cash for its shares this financial year, now fully owns and operates all of its ‘direct to consumer’ digital products.
The discussion over the split began in 2016, when speculation began over the sale of its Yahoo assets following the Verizon acquisition.
In 2017, both Yahoo and Seven revealed that the joint venture between the two would continue despite the deal with Verizon, however, in March last year Seven announced it would sell the remaining shares.
The sale comes after Seven exercised a put option under the Yahoo7 Shareholders Agreement, pivoting the company to meet advertisers’ demand for "integrated, cross-screen media solutions".
Seven CEO Tim Worner says the sale marks a huge milestone in the ongoing transformation of Seven, with the business "radically revitalising" its digital strategy over the last two years.
“This announcement means SWM has now completely regained 100% control of our brands and assets online," Worner says.
“This strategy is already working on all fronts. SWM achieved its largest ever Unique Monthly audience of five million in February, following YoY growth of nearly 20%, confirming our position as one of Australia’s largest and fastest growing digital publishers."
As a result of the sale, Yahoo7 CEO Ed Harrison, chief financial officer Penny Diamantakiou, chief technology officer Paul Russell and director of product Mark Robinson were made redundant.
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