AT&T Sells Xandr Ad Business to Microsoft for $1 Billion (1)

AT&T Inc. agreed to sell its Xandr division to Microsoft Corp., a long-anticipated divestiture after the carrier decided digital advertising wasn’t central to its operations.

The transaction gives customers on Microsoft’s properties, such as MSN, access to Xandr’s marketplace for automated online advertising, the companies said Tuesday in a statement that didn’t disclose financial terms. The deal is valued at about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information.

AT&T has been seeking a buyer for Xandr for more than a year after giving up on its dream of ...