Marissa Mayer is resigning from the board of Yahoo but her future with the company may continue after the Verizon deal concludes. Image: JStone/Shutterstock
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is to resign from the board of the company once the sale of its core internet businesses to Verizon is concluded.
While Mayer is stepping down from the board, she will continue as CEO of Yahoo and may even remain as an executive after the Verizon acquisition is concluded.
The former Yahoo portal will become part of the Verizon AOL division headed by Tim Armstrong.
In an SEC filing, Mayer, along with five other executives including co-founder David Filo and chairman Maynard Webb, will resign from the board of the company once the acquisition concludes.
The remainder of the Yahoo business – including the company’s 15pc stake in Alibaba and its 35.5pc stake in Yahoo Japan – will be rebranded as an investment business called Altaba.
Verizon acquisition of Yahoo appears to be steaming ahead
The Yahoo deal is, however, not yet complete, and recent hacking revelations that saw more than 1bn user accounts stolen may give Verizon shareholders cold feet, or grounds to request a discount.
However, the filing may also be seen as an indication that the deal is actually moving forward at pace.
The acquisition ends a 21-year era of Yahoo as an independent company and a trailblazer for the internet industry.
The company set the pace for online advertising and content but in recent years became displaced by the rise of Google and, subsequently, Facebook.
Despite Mayer’s best efforts and various forays into mobile as well as the acquisition of players like Tumblr for $1.1bn in 2013, losses at Yahoo continued to mount and by 2016, they surpassed $4.4bn.
While Mayer may have indicated she is stepping down from the board, this is a formality that indicates the Verizon takeover is steaming ahead.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Image: JStone/Shutterstock
