Swisher also shot down reports that the company’s board was reconsidering its plans to spin off its valuable 15% stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
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Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has been under increasing pressure to get some growth going at the venerable and seemingly constantly troubled Internet pioneer, and it’s not like the company hasn’t tried just about everything.
Reports indicate that Yahoo may be looking to sell of its Web properties, such as Yahoo Mail and its news sites.
As it happens, tax concerns were enough for Yahoo to think otherwise. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) and IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) are some of the companies that have reportedly shown interest in Yahoo’s core business. Sources have revealed to Re/Code that Ms. Mayer still has strong backing from the board.
Ms Mayer has a fight on her hands, as she tries to salvage her position after failing to deliver what she promised. In over three years of her career as the Yahoo! Inc.
The discussions are also expected to put attention squarely on Yahoo chief executive officer Marissa Mayer and the company’s direction under her leadership. If Yahoo’s board sticks to the Alibaba spinoff, Starboard is threatening to lead an attempt to oust the nine directors next year. (YHOO) is considering a potential sale of its core internet business during a series of meetings beginning Wednesday and continuing through Friday.
Yahoo’s plan to spin its stake in Alibaba was stopped when the United States Internal Revenue Service denied the company’s request to allow the transaction to pass as a tax-free deal. Most of the dollars, though, are flowing to rivals Google and Facebook. Yahoo was once one of the most powerful websites on the Internet, but it has been overtaken in email and search by Google and beaten in Media by Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon (AMZN).
The Alibaba spinoff is expected to be completed in January, barring any complications.
The stock surged 6% on Wall Street overnight as investors cheered plans to separate Alibaba without being hit with a mammoth tax charge. The stock surged by close to 7 percent on the back of 1.5 times the average daily volumes which is being seen as a huge positive.
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“Meanwhile, net revenue has fallen from $5.4 billion in 2008 to a projected $4 billion this year, while headcount was at 11,500 in September, down 32 percent from when Mayer was hired in July 2012”.
