AOL, the internet pioneer that struck the worst deal of the dotcom bubble, has agreed a $4.4bn sale to Verizon as the largest US telecommunications group bets on a new era in which smartphones become the primary screens for entertainment and advertising.
Verizon’s push into mobile video and advertising comes amid a new wave of dealmaking in a media and communications industry transformed by the rise of new digital competitors.
AT&T, its closest rival, has bid $48.5bn for DirecTV; cable groups are circling each other after Comcast’s failed bid for Time Warner Cable; and content owners such as Fox have been scouting for deals to boost their scale in an advertising market increasingly dominated by Google and Facebook.