Yahoo wants to show investors that it is serious about fielding takeover offers.þþThe Internet company said on Friday that its board had formed a strategic-review committee of independent directors to consider the best path for its core business, according to a statement.þþThe committee, along with its advisers, is creating a protocol for communicating with other parties that may be interested in a transaction with Yahoo. Yahoo has tapped financial advisers, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Paul J. Taubman’s firm, PJT Partners, as well as the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, to help with the process. The committee would then be responsible for recommending what it determines to be the best transaction to the board — if one exists.þþYahoo’s shares gained in early-market trading on the news that the company was organizing itself to potentially get sold.þþYahoo first acknowledged that it was exploring “strategic alternatives” in early February, as activist investors like Starboard Value pushed for a sale of the core business, which includes search, mail, sports and finance. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s chief executive, had been focused instead on a reverse spinoff, in which Yahoo’s core and its Japanese affiliate would be separated from the company’s huge stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group into its own publicly traded company.þþ“Separating our Alibaba stake from Yahoo’s operating business is essential to maximizing value for our shareholders,” Ms. Mayer said in Friday’s statement. “In addition to the reverse spin, there are strategic alternatives that could help us achieve the separation, while strengthening our business.”þþThe company declined to make any other additional disclosures about the sales process.þ
Source: NY Times
