The Wall Street Journal, which first reported that Yahoo might sell its Internet business, also reported Tuesday that the board meeting would discuss how to proceed with the spinoff company’s 15 stake in Alibaba, worth more than $20 billion.
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Internet giant Yahoo will consider selling all or part of its core business, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. These sessions are set to begin Wednesday and carry on through Friday, according to these sources.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s plan has failed to turn around the company’s core businesses. Although Mayer is credited with stabilizing the company, which was in rapid decline, Yahoo has introduced no breakthrough products during her three years at the helm and has fallen further and further behind competitors like Facebook Inc and Google Inc in the battle for advertising dollars. Activist investor group Starboard has asked Yahoo not to sell its Alibaba business and instead look to sell off its core Internet business. It’s stake is worth an estimated $30 billion – nearly as much as the market capitalization of Yahoo. In Q3 2015, Yahoo reported seven percent year-over-year growth in revenue to bring the total to $1.2 billion (£0.8 billion) but posted an $86 million (£57.5 million) operating loss.
Yahoo will be holding series of board meetings to weight its options on what to do with its flagging Internet business.
The sale proposals come amid growing pressure on chief executive Marissa Mayer. The article also notes Yahoo’s cash and short-term investments totaled $5.9 billion at the end of the third quarter. A number of hedge funds are rumoured to be in line or thinking of buying the core Yahoo business. Her appointment from Google was seen as a major coup for Yahoo after years of turmoil, but the core search and website business has stuttered, with Ms Mayer’s main legacy being a string of expensive acquisitions.
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Yahoo runs several web properties including Flickr, Yahoo Finance, blogging platform Tumblr and fashion site Polyvore, as well as the messenger, mail and search functions it is known for. Under the rule of Ms. Mayer, company tried its level best to drive the latest turnaround effort.
