In the wake of the largest ever data breach experienced and disclosed by Yahoo, Verizon is reportedly seeking a new deal, even as US federal authorities renew their scrutiny into the hack. Verizon is believed to be exploring the possibilities of a price cut or even a possible retreat from the $4.83 bn (£3.89 bn, €4.62 bn) pending agreement with Yahoo, according to reports. Following announcement of a second cyberattack which affected one billion users, Yahoo's share plummeted by over 6%. In October, Verizon had announced that it would reassess its deal with Yahoo. However, the firm now said that it would "review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions" on whether to proceed with the purchase of Yahoo's internet business, says a report by Reuters. According to an unnamed source, Verizon is still looking to go through with the deal, however, in light of the recent disclosures about the massive data breach, the firm is now seeking "major concessions". In a report by Bloomberg, an unspecified source claims that Verizon is aiming to ensure that Yahoo assumes any lasting legal responsibility for any damages resulting from the cyberattack. A Yahoo spokesperson said: "We are confident in Yahoo's value and we continue to work towards integration with Verizon." According to sources familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous, Verizon has allegedly threatened to take Yahoo to court if the cost of the deal is not lowered, citing a material adverse effect. However, no court in Delaware, where Yahoo is incorporated, has found a material adverse effect to have occurred, which would help the firms to exit the deal. Experts believe that given the magnitude of the breach, some concessions from Yahoo may be likely. Yahoo's disclosure about the latest cyberattack clarified that personal and sensitive information, including names, email addresses, hashed passwords and more of one billion users had been stolen, marking the breach as the largest known so far.
Verizon is said to be rethinking its proposed $4.83bn acquisition of Yahoo, following the recent hack in which the personal details of more than one billion users were stolen. The company has been under pressure from regulators and privacy advocates over whether it should acquire Yahoo for $44.8bn, as part of a deal that would give it control of the online advertising market. US federal authorities are investigating the breach, in which hackers accessed users' names, email addresses and hashed passwords.