Verizon unsure about closing $4.8bn Yahoo deal following massive data breach

Verizon is reportedly unsure about proceeding with the $4.8bn Yahoo acquisition deal after Yahoo publicly acknowledged a second massive cyberattack that affected one billion of its customers.

Verizon is reportedly still analysing the impact of the Yahoo hack, which was disclosed in December and is originally believed to have occurred in 2013. In September, Yahoo revealed that a separate data breach that reportedly took place in 2014, resulted in 500 million user accounts exposed.

Verizon executive VP Marni Walden, at an investor event in Las Vegas was asked whether the carrier would proceed with the deal. Walden responded: "Unfortunately, I can't sit here today and say with confidence one way or the other because we still don't know," the Wall Street Journal reported.

Walden said certain aspects of the investigation into the Yahoo hack are yet to be concluded. She added: "The merits of that transaction still make sense."

In the event that Verizon exits the acquisition deal, the firm would likely have to prove that the overall value of Yahoo had diminished after the disclosures of the two cyberattacks came to light. According to Walden, the firm will still take weeks before making a decision about the deal. "I have to have certain facts in order to be able to make a good decision," she said. "There's a lot of stuff we don't know."

Meanwhile, another Verizon executive Tim Armstrong, who runs AOL and was reportedly involved in the Yahoo deal, told CNBC on 5 January that he was "hopeful that the deal will continue to go through". AOL was acquired by Verizon for $4.4bn in 2015.

A Yahoo spokeswoman said: "We are confident in Yahoo's value and we continue to work towards integration with Verizon."