Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer at the World Economic Forum in Davos past year.
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This is, of course, the story line that Mayer, 40, has envisioned all along.
Yahoo shares closed down 0.3% on the stock market today.
One thing that could be interesting – at least I think it could be more likely – would be an outright purchase of Yahoo by a big telco looking for content and ad tech, much in the same way AOL was acquired by Verizon.
A spokeswoman for Yahoo said the company is not going to comment on the WSJ report.
However, she shocked the industry and Wall Street when she chose to lead Yahoo!, a company on the brink of falling. Depending on how deep she cuts, hundreds of Yahoo workers could lose their jobs.
What if Mayer is out at Yahoo?
Citing unnamed sources, the paper reported that Yahoo directors will weigh whether to seek a buyer for the company’s Web assets, spin off shares in Alibaba Holding Group Ltd. worth more than $30 billion or do both. A private Yahoo has been contemplated before and, in fact, might be the exact right way it should be structured to return to health.
Yahoo said it planned to proceed with the spinoff despite the IRS announcement, but has not yet done so.
Based on preliminary feedback from tax lawyers, Yahoo believes the spin-off will quality for tax-free status. With a $42 million compensation package in 2014, he called her the most overpaid CEO in history.
Instead, Starboard said Yahoo should sell its core internet search and ad business. Apparently, people are longing for real results, and are speculating that Mayer’s head will be chopped off Yahoo by the board. It probably couldn’t stage that mutiny until the summer, if then. Since that includes the company’s Alibaba and $8.5 billion Yahoo Japan stakes, investors have valued Yahoo’s core business as essentially worthless.
Mayer has been adding services for smartphones and tablets, new tools for advertisers and media content in a bid to attract audiences and marketers.
Lack of a long-awaited turnaround at Yahoo has put pressure on Mayer to prove she has what it takes to revive the faded internet pioneer.
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Mayer, ever since her tenure as the CEO, has been repeatedly saying that it will take time for her to turn the company around.
