Yahoo! Inc. Announces Acquisition of Mobile NFC Technology Patents

Online, March 13, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) today announced that it has finalized an agreement to purchase two patents from inventor/patent holder Michael Katz of Conshohocken, PA for a purchase price of $7.2 million. These patents will provide Yahoo! with Near Field Communication technology to utilize within the retail industry, communicating with users through mobile devices prior to the Point of Sale, while storing the consumer's mobile behavior within a database based upon the users' actions while browsing the retail location.

"I am pleased Yahoo! Inc. has agreed to acquire this next generation idea that compliments the new-age digital in-store experience that many people are experiencing in this day and age," said Katz. "Yahoo! has a strong reputation as a technology innovator, and I believe they are well positioned to build on the development work and investment I've made in this area."

"As the technology industry evolves towards an experience-centric model, users are demanding more media and personalized experiences in their computing devices. The acquisition of these foundational personalization patents expands Yahoo's diverse and extensive portfolio of intellectual property," said Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! CEO. "We believe this agreement enhances our ability to continue to offer richer experiences and innovative solutions to end users across a wide spectrum of devices, including through smartphones and digital media."

In addition to the sale of the patents, Katz and Yahoo! have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on future support and development of the next-generation implementation and related products.

"We look forward to working with Katz to support the development of the next-generation solutions, and to expanding our relationship into new products and markets," said Mayer.