Yahoo To Be Named Altaba, CEO Marissa Mayer To Leave Board After Verizon Deal

Yahoo Inc said Monday Jan 09,2017 that it would rename itself Altaba Inc and Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer would step down from the board after the closing of its deal with Verizon Communications Inc.

Yahoo has a deal to sell its core internet business, which includes its digital advertising, email and media assets, to Verizon for $4.83 billion.

The terms of that deal could be amended - or the transaction may even be called off - after Yahoo last year disclosed two separate data breaches; one involving some 500 million customer accounts and the second involving over a billion.

Verizon executives have said that while they see a strong strategic fit with Yahoo, they are still investigating the data breaches.

Five other Yahoo directors would also resign after the deal closes, Yahoo said in a regulatory filing on Monday Jan 09,2017

The remaining directors will govern Altaba, a holding company whose primary assets will be a 15 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and 35.5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan.

The new company also named Eric Brandt chairman of the board, effective Jan 09,2017

How Yahoo Came Up With Its New Name - Altaba

Yahoo was already a shell of its former self. Now part of the company is getting an obscure new name: Altaba.

When Verizon agreed to buy the company for $4.8 billion in July 2016, it planned to purchase just Yahoo's core Internet businesses, which include its email service, sports verticals and various apps. What's left of the embattled technology company would essentially be its ownership in the very valuable Chinese Internet giant Alibaba.

When the deal closes, the remaining part will change its name to Altaba, the company announced in security filings on Monday. The sale is expected to be completed by late March.

The new name is meant to be a combination of the words "alternative and Alibaba," according to a person familiar with the company's thinking, who didn't want to be named because the individual was not authorized to speak on the record about the name change.

Today Yahoo owns roughly 15 percent of Alibaba, holdings that are worth about $35 billion. The idea behind the name is that Altaba's stock can now be tracked as an alternative to Alibaba because Yahoo owns a sizeable chunk of the Chinese company.

The new company, which will be publicly traded and until now has been referred to as RemainCo in security filings, also owns a 35.5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan, the company's Japanese affiliate, and Yahoo's cash, and a patent portfolio that is being sold off in a separate auction.

A Yahoo spokeswoman, Suzanne Philion, would not comment on the name. She emailed the following statement: "We are confident in Yahoo's value and we continue to work towards integration with Verizon."