Yahoo Chairman, Three More Board Members to Depart

1:39 PM PST 2/7/2012 by Georg Szalai

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As the company continues deal talks, chairman Roy Bostock says: "At this time there have not been any proposals which have been deemed by the committee to be attractive to our shareholders."

Yahoo said Tuesday that it continues to explore potential deals, particularly equity investments in the online company, and a restructuring of its Asian holdings.

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It also said that chairman Roy Bostock and three other board members have decided not to stand for re-election following the recent departure of founder Jerry Yang.

"The board has concluded that in order to accelerate the company's transformation, the combination of a new chief executive officer with an enhanced team of independent directors would provide Yahoo with the expertise and perspectives necessary to drive innovation and growth going forward," Bostock said in a letter to shareholders.

Yahoo's board has also elected two new independent directors in Alfred Amoroso and Maynard Webb Jr.

Talking about potential deals, Bostock said "we have pursued a wide range of discussions with potential partners." He added: "We have engaged with potential investors and reviewed proposals concerning an equity investment in the company, although at this time there have not been any proposals which have been deemed by the committee to be attractive to our shareholders."

Talks with the firm's partners in Asia about a restructuring of its holdings in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan also continue, the outgoing chairman said.

"The complexity and unique nature of these transactions is significant," he concluded. "While we continue to devote significant resources to these discussions, we are not in a position at this time to provide further detail or to provide assurance that any transaction will be achieved."

Amoroso served as president and CEO of Rovi Corp. until December. Webb, the chairman of LiveOps, is also a former COO of eBay. The board continues its search for additional independent directors, Bostock said.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai