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Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

nytimes.com

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Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#201

Post by gaius »

chollida1 wrote: post #17

Yahoo had to do this. They had been hanging onto the belief that the IRS wouldn't tax their Alibaba spin out, a belief that they and their tax accountants alone believed. Most telling is that Yahoo was up after the markets closed on this news. Heck Bloomberg just sent me a note saying the sentiment of the news on Yahoo was very positive, even the machines like this news:) Sadly this probably means 3 things are going…

The past 4 years couldn't have been easy on her.

Isn't that why CEOs are paid the big bucks?

I mean, a Yahoo whose sole purpose is to be a tax-efficient vehicle for holding shares in Alibaba is not the endgame anyone envisioned, and let's be honest, doesn't really need a CEO either... Not that she ever has to work again.

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#202

Post by wooger »

chollida1 wrote: post #17

Yahoo had to do this. They had been hanging onto the belief that the IRS wouldn't tax their Alibaba spin out, a belief that they and their tax accountants alone believed. Most telling is that Yahoo was up after the markets closed on this news. Heck Bloomberg just sent me a note saying the sentiment of the news on Yahoo was very positive, even the machines like this news:) Sadly this probably means 3 things are going…

> It's clear she's great at product design and not so good at people skills.

Can you remind me which great products she's designed?

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#203

Post by ZanyProgrammer »

forgetsusername wrote: post #159
spinchange wrote: post #56

To come in as an outsider and try to save an ailing web giant nearly everyone had already written off is no easy feat. Wall St. is valuing things like Tumblr at zero and so now she has to do a 180 and unwind this company, maximally and efficiently, while pregnant with twins. Naturally we're inclined to armchair QB, but I think the hand she took over when she sat down at the table was bad. While she never went "all in…

> To come in as an outsider She's a Silicon Valley darling; in what way was she an outsider? > I think the hand she took over when she sat down at the table was bad. I agree with this. > she played smart But not this. During her tenure the company treaded water for a few years, lost nearly all value, and now might be looking to break itself up. Is this the standard we should be holding high-profile, high-priced execu…

What should she have done? That's the million dollar question I don't see any good answer to.

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#204

Post by wahsd »

chollida1 wrote: post #17

Yahoo had to do this. They had been hanging onto the belief that the IRS wouldn't tax their Alibaba spin out, a belief that they and their tax accountants alone believed. Most telling is that Yahoo was up after the markets closed on this news. Heck Bloomberg just sent me a note saying the sentiment of the news on Yahoo was very positive, even the machines like this news:) Sadly this probably means 3 things are going…

Marissa Mayer is basically an ex-CEO walking at this point. As "bad" as it sounds, the only thing that has kept her around recently is her pregnancy. No board would want to step into the mess of letting a woman CEO go during pregnant or immediately following pregnancy and maternity, no matter horrible her performance. You are right, I give it about 6 months before there's an announcement of her departure for whatever reason, probably "spending time with the family".

As it has been put by others, Mayer will hold the title in corporate history as the most expensive CEO for a very long time.

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#205

Post by mkagenius »

guelo wrote: post #191
jackgavigan wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's so bad about it? The end result is the same as the original plan - one company with a stake in Alibaba, and another company with Yahoo's core businesses and the Yahoo Japan stake.

They're looking for a buyer of the Yahoo spinoff, it's not going to stay independent. It will probably to be bought by vulture capital firms. Yahoo is basically dead.

> They're looking for a buyer of the Yahoo

Board feels Yahoo's core business is undervalued. The spin off will help clear the picture of how much Yahoo's core business independently value.

They are not looking for buyers (unless someone has a offer they can't refuse).

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#206

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

wooger wrote: post #202
chollida1 wrote: post #17

Yahoo had to do this. They had been hanging onto the belief that the IRS wouldn't tax their Alibaba spin out, a belief that they and their tax accountants alone believed. Most telling is that Yahoo was up after the markets closed on this news. Heck Bloomberg just sent me a note saying the sentiment of the news on Yahoo was very positive, even the machines like this news:) Sadly this probably means 3 things are going…

> It's clear she's great at product design and not so good at people skills. Can you remind me which great products she's designed?

Herself?

She went in with a lot of good will. I don't see that she still has that.

Interesting question: could Yahoo have been grown, and if so, how?

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#207

Post by gotrecruit »

AznHisoka wrote: post #28
lmm wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google's search engine runs at a loss to support their advertising business, and haven't had any serious competition in that sector since they bought Doubleclick (which looks a bit antitrusty in my eyes but what do I know). Yahoo doesn't have much of an ad business so there's not a lot of value in running their own search. They're good at their core business of being a portal, with some parts implemented themselves a…

That's perhaps the most twisted/obtuse definition of "running at a loss". Without their search engine, there is no advertising business.

lol, yeah that dude has a serious fundamental misunderstanding of how economics and business works. it's like saying mcdonalds backend operations (food prep, management, real estate leasing, training, purchasing) are operating at a loss in order to support their frontend operations of selling burgers. complete nonsense.

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#208

Post by 3pt14159 »

So I don't understand one simple thing: The stock is up 120% since Mayer took over. Even adjusting for compounding interest over 3.43 years, this is like 25+% yearly growth. So the core business is crapping out? So what? Why is everyone dumping on Mayer? I don't even think I could fix the core Yahoo business. They have to pay a 50% premium for developers just because it's Yahoo and their core audience is the technically illiterate; a group that is fairly difficult to monetize.

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#209

Post by Redoubts »

chollida1 wrote: post #17

Yahoo had to do this. They had been hanging onto the belief that the IRS wouldn't tax their Alibaba spin out, a belief that they and their tax accountants alone believed. Most telling is that Yahoo was up after the markets closed on this news. Heck Bloomberg just sent me a note saying the sentiment of the news on Yahoo was very positive, even the machines like this news:) Sadly this probably means 3 things are going…

>Most telling is that Yahoo was up after the markets closed on this news.

That spike seems to have been very short lived

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=YHOO+Interactive#{"range"...

Re: Yahoo to Spin Off Its Core Businesses

#210

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

jackgavigan wrote: post #184
charlesdm wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She's throwing the company away she is currently CEO of. The BABA stake had to be separated from Yahoo, but this is literally the worst possible way, aside from selling the shares + paying taxes, to achieve this.

What's so bad about it? The end result is the same as the original plan - one company with a stake in Alibaba, and another company with Yahoo's core businesses and the Yahoo Japan stake.

It's reminiscent of the endgame at HP, where the formerly profitable PC/printer division has been split off from Enterprise - possibly in an attempt to keep at least one afloat.

That's not proof of badness, but it does suggest desperation and lack of imagination.

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