No surprise here . . .
Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang will step down, following his failure to negotiate a takeover by Microsoft Corp. and broker an online advertising agreement with Google Inc.
Yahoo is searching for a new CEO, the company said today in a statement. Yang, 40, will continue to serve on the board. He took the top job at the 13-year-old Internet company in June 2007, promising to win back users and advertisers lost to market leader Google.
The move signals that the board may seek a new offer from Microsoft, which bid $47.5 billion for Yahoo this year. Shareholders criticized Yang and fellow co-founder David Filo for seeking a higher price while Yahoo’s sales growth and profits continued to drop. The stock has lost about 60 percent since Yang took over.
Yahoo investors withheld one third of their votes for Yang’s re-election to the board in August. He sidestepped a proxy fight with Carl Icahn, agreeing to give the billionaire investor three slots on the board. Yahoo’s net sales growth dwindled to 3 percent last quarter from 14 percent a year earlier. Profit has dropped in 10 of the past 11 quarters.
Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, fell 19 cents to $10.63 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.
Ten bucks! Can you believe it?
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Sources:
Yang to Step Down After Microsoft, Google Deals Fail
Crayton Harrison
Bloomberg, Nov. 17 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alQDH2gdjsKc&
Jerry Yang steps aside as Yahoo seeks new CEO; Embattled CEO to remain as board member, resume ‘Chief Yahoo’ role
John Letzing
MarketWatch 8:34 p.m. EST Nov. 17, 2008
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/yang-step-down-yahoo-ceo/story.aspx?guid={BB8DBF8D-F9AF-4B0F-AD43-98846BA7B08E}&
Jerry Yang Set to Step Down as Yahoo CEO
JESSICA E. VASCELLARO
TECHNOLOGYNOVEMBER 17, 2008, 9:12 P.M. ET
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122697024336935679.html
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