Beleaguered Yahoo chairman and veteran directors to quit
Source: Agencies |
February 9, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
YAHOO! chairman Roy Bostock and three longtime board members are stepping down, submitting to the demands of many frustrated shareholders who blame them for not fixing the problems dragging down the Internet company's revenue and stock price.
The shake-up announced on Tuesday continues a drastic makeover of Yahoo's leadership during the past month as the company negotiates to sell its Asian assets in a complex deal that could help ignite a long-promised turnaround.
After Yahoo hired former PayPal executive Scott Thompson as its CEO a few days into the new year, co-founder Jerry Yang resigned from the board and severed all other ties with the company which he helped start in 1995.
Now Bostock is departing after four years as chairman. Many shareholders still blame him and Yang for squandering an opportunity to sell Yahoo to Microsoft Corp in May 2008 for US$47.5 billion, or US$33 per share. Yahoo's stock hasn't traded above US$20 in nearly three and a half years. The shares closed on Tuesday at US$15.82 - up by a penny.
In extended trading after the announcement, the stock fell 4 US cents to US$15.79.
In a move that will give Thompson an even cleaner slate, Yahoo board members Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern and Gary Wilson also agreed not to seek re-election at Yahoo's shareholders meeting this June.
Yahoo will be left with seven directors, all of whom have joined the board since the end of 2009. They include two appointed on Tuesday: Alfred Amoroso, former CEO of TV listings provider Rovi Corp, and Maynard Webb Jr, a former eBay Inc executive who most recently was CEO of LiveOps Inc, which helps to staff call centers.
Yahoo said it is conducting a search for additional directors.
Bringing in new directors to work with Thompson will "provide Yahoo with the expertise and perspectives necessary to drive innovation and growth," Bostock wrote in a letter on Tuesday announcing his plans.
It could also avoid a shareholder mutiny. Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, who controls a 5.2 percent stake in Yahoo, had been threatening to nominate alternate directors if Yahoo didn't overhaul its board.
Bostock's decision-making came under criticism as Yahoo sunk deeper into a financial rut that has seen its net revenue decline from the previous year for 13 consecutive quarters.
"These changes are long overdue," said Ryan Jacob, portfolio manager of Jacob Asset Management, which owns more than 140,000 Yahoo shares.
The shake-up announced on Tuesday continues a drastic makeover of Yahoo's leadership during the past month as the company negotiates to sell its Asian assets in a complex deal that could help ignite a long-promised turnaround.
After Yahoo hired former PayPal executive Scott Thompson as its CEO a few days into the new year, co-founder Jerry Yang resigned from the board and severed all other ties with the company which he helped start in 1995.
Now Bostock is departing after four years as chairman. Many shareholders still blame him and Yang for squandering an opportunity to sell Yahoo to Microsoft Corp in May 2008 for US$47.5 billion, or US$33 per share. Yahoo's stock hasn't traded above US$20 in nearly three and a half years. The shares closed on Tuesday at US$15.82 - up by a penny.
In extended trading after the announcement, the stock fell 4 US cents to US$15.79.
In a move that will give Thompson an even cleaner slate, Yahoo board members Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern and Gary Wilson also agreed not to seek re-election at Yahoo's shareholders meeting this June.
Yahoo will be left with seven directors, all of whom have joined the board since the end of 2009. They include two appointed on Tuesday: Alfred Amoroso, former CEO of TV listings provider Rovi Corp, and Maynard Webb Jr, a former eBay Inc executive who most recently was CEO of LiveOps Inc, which helps to staff call centers.
Yahoo said it is conducting a search for additional directors.
Bringing in new directors to work with Thompson will "provide Yahoo with the expertise and perspectives necessary to drive innovation and growth," Bostock wrote in a letter on Tuesday announcing his plans.
It could also avoid a shareholder mutiny. Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, who controls a 5.2 percent stake in Yahoo, had been threatening to nominate alternate directors if Yahoo didn't overhaul its board.
Bostock's decision-making came under criticism as Yahoo sunk deeper into a financial rut that has seen its net revenue decline from the previous year for 13 consecutive quarters.
"These changes are long overdue," said Ryan Jacob, portfolio manager of Jacob Asset Management, which owns more than 140,000 Yahoo shares.
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