Verizon sees considerable opportunities to partner with media companies, but recent rumours th at it is looking to acquire AOL now look unlikely to come to anything.
"AOL, along with lots of other media companies, are potential [candidates] for us to do partnering with, on a commercial basis or whatever," said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, in an interview at the Citi 2015 Global Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference that was shared on the U.S. telco’s Website.
"To say that we’re having significant acquisition discussions is really not accurate," he said.
McAdam’s comments came in the wake of a Bloomberg report earlier on Tuesday that indicated Verizon is holding talks with AOL that could lead to a takeover deal or joint venture of some kind.
Unnamed sources told the newswire that Verizon has approached the digital media company and the pair are holding talks.
In particular, Verizon is interested in the technology the firm uses to automate the buying and selling of online advertising, which could be used alongside a future online video product, they said.
Verizon has also had discussions with other, similar companies, the sources said, but did not name them. They conceded that a joint venture might make more sense for Verizon than an outright takeover, and that supposition was certainly borne out by McAdam’s comments.
"If I had a dollar for every company that we were supposed to buy I’d be in very good shape financially!" he said. "We’ll look at companies but I think we’re going to be much more a partner with media companies and content companies versus acquisitions as we go forward."
Indeed, the CEO made it clear that Verizon’s strategy and planned investments are still very much centred on its network. Its involvement in digital media will extend to a few select solutions and applications only, he said, listing healthcare, telematics and OTT video as areas of interest.
"I don’t see us as a content company [and] I don’t see us as a big software development company, but I see us as the platform company that makes all of those things work," McAdam said. Verizon will also look at a few applications that drive "some interest and some loyalty in [its] overall product set."
