Reports: Verizon said to be buyer of Yahoo for $5 billion

Verizon has agreed to buy online portal Yahoo Inc. for roughly $5 billion, according to multiple media reports, each citing a single unnamed source.

The deal is expected to be announced formally today before markets open, the reports said.

Verizon had emerged in recent days as the front-runner for the beleaguered internet company. Yahoo is expected to sell its email service and news, finance and sports websites in addition to its advertising tools under pressure from shareholders fed up with a downturn in the company’s revenue during the past eight years.

The deal is likely to end the fouryear reign of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, a former Google executive who flopped in her attempts to turn around the California company.

Yahoo has been in a long slump even as advertisers have been pouring more money into a $160 billion market for digital advertising, according to research firm eMarketer.