Yahoo as we know it is no longer. Not only has CEO Marissa Mayer resigned, but TechCrunch reports the remaining board members have chosen to rename the company as Altaba Inc.
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission confirms the name change, which TechCrunch states is a sign that the company’s sale to Verizon is moving forward as planned.
Verizon is set to acquire the majority of Yahoo’s assets following the sale, while Altaba Inc. will retain a 15% stake in Alibaba and a 35.5% stake in Yahoo Japan.
That means Yahoo’s search engine, blogs, email service, and other properties contained on the homepage will continue to operate under Verizon. They’re not going anywhere for the time being. Altaba is essentially picking up what’s left behind after the Verizon sale.
The Altaba board now consists of only 5 members: Tor Braham, Eric Brandt, Catherine Friedman, Thomas McInerney and Jeffrey Smith. Altaba is now just a holding company, which owns nothing more than stock and patents.
The Yahoo brand we’ve always known could very well continue to live on under Verizon. Former CEO Marissa Mayer may end up in a role with Verizon as well, but her future plans have yet to be announced.
Those who use Yahoo’s web services are not likely to notice any change if and when the sale to Verizon closes. There’s still a chance the deal won’t even go through, in which case all of the above can be disregarded. Yahoo recently disclosed details of two significant hacks, which analysts speculate could put the deal with Verizon in jeopardy.
This is all the information that is available at this time. More details are expected to be revealed later this month during Yahoo’s earnings call.
