Yahoo breakup draws nearer
February 19, 2016
Yahoo's board said Friday it was creating a committee of independent directors and hiring some economic advisors in its long-running restructuring effort.
The company said it had tapped Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and PJT Partners for financial advice, while law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP would provide legal help.
Media reports had suggested the company could sell its core Internet business and that potential suitors might include telecom giant Verizon, which recently also acquired AOL, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
Such a sale would leave Yahoo's multibillion-dollar holdings in Chinese Internet firm Alibaba in a separate entity.
Adjustments needed
Yahoo has come under extraordinary pressure from large shareholders who are increasingly worried about the company's decreasing revenue. In fact, turnover has declined for three and a half years now under CEO Marissa Mayer.
While Yahoo is still one of the best-known names on the Internet and is used by around a billion people, it has fallen behind Google in its online search segment and has lost ground in online advertising.
The firm said earlier this month it was cutting 15 percent of its workforce globally, which, it said, "would mean closing some digital media operation."
hg/pad (Reuters, AFP)