CEO Marissa Mayer's weary Internet giant has gone from Yahoo! to Yahoo??? as anonymous sources tell the Wall Street Journal the company may sell its core business. Meanwhile, Yahoo Inc. maintains its valuable stake in Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba, which Yahoo was hoping to spin off until the IRS declined to rule on whether or not such a transaction could be tax-free, the Business Times adds.
Over board meetings today through Friday, CNET writes that "everything apparently is on the table," perhaps including letting go of Mayer, who has helmed the business to much criticism for three and a half years. As Re/code noted last month, Mayer herself hired consulting firm McKinsey to weigh its reorganization options.
Last month, activist investor Starboard Value urged Yahoo to scrap a planned spinoff of its lucrative stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba and sell its own Internet business — i.e. the only thing it is known for — instead. Starboard's plan would leave the company with only its Alibaba investment and Yahoo Japan, according to the Chronicle.
While many consider Yahoo déclassé, more than 210 million people visited Yahoo's website properties in October. Only Google and Facebook had more visitors, and with over 7 billion readers per month, it's technically the best-read news and media website in the world, so maybe we're all just jealous.
Nonetheless, shares of Yahoo have taken a 33 percent tumble in the last year. They're up roughly six or seven percent on the recent news, according to none other than Yahoo Finance.
