The Journal story said another fund, SpringOwl Asset Management, was also criticizing the Yahoo restructuring.
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On Monday morning, Jackson sent a 99-page presentation to Yahoo’s board of directors outlining his case for why Yahoo should drop Mayer as CEO and find new management.
The demands from SpringOwl Asset Management and Canyon Capital Advisors reflect shareholders’ frustration with Ms Mayer’s inability to snap the company out of a financial downturn after three-and-half years in the top job.
Ms. Mayer on Wednesday said she would announce a more detailed reorganization plan on the fourth-quarter earnings call next month. SpringOwl is only a $300 million fund. But his plan is to round up major shareholders to rally around his plan.
The meetings Yahoo held last week included a discussion on whether to heed an activist shareholder’s call for Yahoo to sell the websites, mobile applications and ad services that generate most of its revenue and recast itself to a holding company for its holdings in Alibaba, a rapidly growing e-commerce company, and Yahoo Japan.
At right, the new Yahoo billboard. He predicted that with cost-cutting and profitability improvements, the core businesses could even amount to at least $24 billion. He hopes to pressure Yahoo’s board publicly, using his 22,000 Twitter followers, but will also consider waging a proxy fight.
A separate challenge is emerging from investors who want Yahoo to sell now.
Yahoo is scrapping its original plan to spin off its prized stake in China’s Alibaba Group and will instead explore breaking off the rest of its business into a new company.
“We do not understand the board’s continued support of the company’s senior management team, given its track record”, Canyon Capital wrote.
In its December 11 letter to Yahoo’s board, Canyon Capital indicated that Ms Mayer already has been given too much time to turn things around. The company’s “inaction to date has been startling”, the letter stated.
Canyon didn’t specify whether it would plan to take any action.
Today, with Mayer on maternity leave caring for her newborn twins, a presentation has surfaced detailing why she – and 9,000 of her closest employees – should be fired immediately (Happy Holidays!) in order to preserve what’s left of Yahoo’s value.
The size of Starboard’s stake in Yahoo isn’t clear but it is among the firm’s largest positions, people familiar with the matter have said.
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Canyon Capital wasn’t the only investor with something to say about the current state of Yahoo. However, last week, Chairman Maynard Webb said the board has not approved a sale process but it has “a fiduciary duty to entertain any offers”.
