Verizon confirms intention to buy AOL in €3.9bn deal

US telecommunications giant Verizon has confirmed its intention to buy AOL for $4.4bn (€3.9bn), turning the biggest US wireless carrier into a leading provider of content and video for the web and mobile phones.

The $50-per-share offer represents a premium of 17.4% to AOL’s Monday close. AOL and its properties — including the Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and Engadget websites— would become a Verizon subsidiary, with AOL CEO Tim Armstrong staying in his role.

Mr Armstrong, who has been trying to build up AOL’s expertise in mobile ad technology , sees mobile representing 80% of media consumption in the coming years.