Yahoo as we know it will soon be no more. A filing with the American Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that current CEO Marissa Mayer will be stepping down from her position, while the company itself will be renamed to Altaba.
Altaba itself will only be a holding company for Yahoo’s 15 percent stake in Alibaba and its 35 percent stake in Yahoo Japan; the parts of the company that are actually profitable. What will happen to the rest of Yahoo is currently unconfirmed, but the name change is an indication that the sale to Verizon is going through.
Verizon has put in a $4.8 billion (about RM21.5 billion) bid for Yahoo, although this was made before revelations of a security breach that exposed the information of some 1 billion users. It is believed that Verizon has asked for a discount on the sale price as a result of this information. Still, neither company has made any announcements on the situation.
Yahoo has struggled to remain relevant as an internet company, and the introduction of former Googler Marissa Mayer has failed to turn its fortunes around. The company has been losing both money and users; with only its stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan showing any chance of survival.
That being said, the Yahoo name will still live on. The brand still has immense amounts of recognition, and is part of the company that is being sold to Verizon. Whether the media conglomerate will use the name is an entirely different story.
[Source: Techcrunch]
