Verizon says Yahoo email hacking could scupper $4.83 billion deal

Verizon has a “reasonable basis” to allow the company to withdraw from its $4.83 billion proposed deal to buy Yahoo, following revelations of a massive data breach affecting at least 500 million accounts.

Craig Silliman, Verizon’s general counsel, told reporters at a Verizon-sponsored event in Washington, DC on Thursday that the data breach could trigger a clause allowing it to withdraw from the deal, according to Reuters.

“I think we have a reasonable basis to believe right now that the impact is material and we’re looking to Yahoo to demonstrate to us the full impact. If they believe that it’s not then they’ll need to show us that,” Silliman said.

“We are confident in Yahoo’s value and we continue to work towards integration with Verizon,” Yahoo told ZDNet in a statement on Thursday.

Yahoo previously confirmed in September a data breach dating back to 2014 that may have affected at least 500 million user accounts.

It later said that a “state-sponsored actor” gained access to names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords, and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.