Yahoo Shares Rise On Yang's Fall

  • November 19, 2008
In announcing his resignation Monday, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang managed to restore some value to the company's market cap. After closing at $10.63 Monday, Yahoo shares ticked upward in after-hours trading on news of Yang's planned exit, opening Tuesday at $11.93. The stock closed slightly lower Tuesday at $11.55, adding $1.5 billion to Yahoo's market cap.

In a post Tuesday, BusinessWeek's Spencer Ante estimates Yahoo lost $28 billion in value under Yang, mainly as a result of his rejection of Microsoft's $33-a-share acquisition bid. That's not to mention all the human capital that headed out the door in the last 18 months amid internal turmoil and multiple reorganizations.

In a blog post yesterday, Yang cast his tumultuous tenure in a different light. "I truly believe we've made tangible progress in bringing our strategic vision to life," he wrote. "Most significantly, we've rewired our entire network to create a Yahoo that has opened its doors to outside publishers and developers."

So who should lead Yahoo now? Ante suggests no one, if the company is going to wind up as part of Microsoft anyway. "Shareholder return would be maximized if the board entered into serious negotiations to sell the company to Microsoft, if Microsoft still wants to buy Yahoo. And why wouldn't it?" he wrote.--Mark Walsh

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