AOL and Yahoo to be combined into new Verizon sub-brand, dubbed "Oath"

Verizon has made some waves over the past few years by acquiring former internet juggernauts AOL and Yahoo. Now, Big Red will combine these two into a new organization, which will be called “Oath.”

Back in 2015, Verizon bought AOL for about $4.4 billion. At the time, AOL owned major internet business outlets like The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and Engadget, all of which have been absorbed into Verizon. Since buying these properties, Verizon hasn’t done much with them and has left them to function autonomously.

Last July, Verizon announced a deal to acquire Yahoo for about $4.8 billion, taking with it Yahoo’s mail, media, search, and advertising businesses. That deal is scheduled to close in the second quarter of this year, likely on April 24. There is a chance that the acquisition may fall through, as either party can still opt to terminate the deal. Given Yahoo’s troubles with security and revenue prior its acquisition, however, that it highly unlikely.

Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, confirmed the new brand in a tweet, stating “Billion+ Consumers, 20+ Brands, Unstoppable Team. #TakeTheOath. Summer 2017.” The Oath brand looks like it’ll act more as a container of the many sub-brands under AOL and Yahoo. According to an email from an AOL spokesperson, Oath will be an “umbrella” under which “the portfolio of brands” will fall to create “a house of brands structure.”

It’s still not quite clear what Oath will be or do, but it sounds like it’ll be some kind of brand manager for all the companies under AOL and Yahoo, including Techcrunch, Yahoo!, Alto, Engadget, and others. We’ll find out more about Oath and what it means for Verizon when it officially launches this summer.

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