Verizon is in the process of buying Yahoo for $4.8 billion, and with the sale has come some changes – a re-shuffling of board members, and a complete change of name.
Say goodbye to Yahoo! and its superfluous exclamation mark, and hello to Altaba Inc.
The change was detailed in a report from the US securities and exchange commission:
In connection with the previously announced pending sale by Yahoo! Inc. (“Yahoo” or the “Company”) of its operating business (the “Sale Transaction”) to Verizon Communications Inc. (“Verizon”) pursuant to the terms of a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of July 23, 2016, between the Company and Verizon, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) has made certain determinations with respect to the size and composition of the Board following the closing of the Sale Transaction (the “Closing”).
In light of the fact that following the Closing the Company will operate as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Board has determined that, immediately following the Closing, the size of the Board will be reduced to five (5) directors. Tor Braham, Eric Brandt, Catherine Friedman, Thomas McInerney and Jeffrey Smith will continue to serve as directors of the Company following the Closing, and Mr. Brandt will serve as Chairman of the Board.
Each of David Filo, Eddy Hartenstein, Richard Hill, Marissa Mayer, Jane Shaw and Maynard Webb has indicated that he or she intends to resign from the Board effective upon the Closing, and that his or her intention to resign is not due to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.
To facilitate the transition of the Company to an investment company following the Closing, the Board also determined that, effective January 9, 2017, Mr. Brandt will become Chairman of the Board and Mr. Webb will become Chairman Emeritus of the Board.
Then there is this:
Item 8.01 Other Events.
The Board also determined that, following the Closing, it intends to cause the Company’s name to be changed to Altaba Inc.
Yahoo’s problems seem to be compounding of late, with the revelation of around a billion accounts having been compromised, leaving account holder’s personal information – including names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers – exposed to hackers.
Will the name change help the company distance itself from these events, perhaps?