Marissa Mayer to leave Yahoo board after Verizon closes deal

Image: Denis Balibouse / Reuters             

 
After Yahoo completes its $4.83 billion deal with telecoms operator Verizon Communications chief executive Marissa Mayer will step down, the company said in a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday. Mayer, a former Google executive, was charged with reviving Yahoo when she took over the reins of the internet company in 2012.
 
In July last year, Yahoo agreed to sell its core internet business, which includes its digital advertising, email and media assets, to Verizon, marking a possible end to Mayer’s many turnaround attempts.
 
However, soon after, brand Yahoo was marred by bad press. In September last year, the company revealed that personal details belonging to 500 million users had been stolen from its network in late 2014. In  December it announced yet another data hack, this time involving over a billion users. This could potentially jeopardise the Verizon deal, or at least spark a re-negotiation of the contract. According to Verizon executives, the company is investigating the data breaches.
 
Yahoo assets that are not being sold to Verizon include shares in Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba, the Yahoo Japan business, as well as some other intellectual property. This new entity will be called Altaba, according to the SEC filing.
 
Apart from Mayer, five other directors will also resign from Yahoo’s board following the deal closure. Eric Brandt has been named chairman of Altaba’s board, with effect from Monday.