Yahoo Inc. is gearing up for change amid its pending sale of assets to Verizon, disclosing in an SEC filing that it will reduce the size of its board, including the departure of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, and change the name of the company to Altaba Inc.
Per the 8-K document filed Monday (January 9), the size of the board will be cut to five members following the closing of the deal -- Tor Braham, Eric Brandt, Catherine Friedman, Thomas McInerney and Jeffrey Smith. Brandt, the former EVP and CFO of Broadcom, will become chairman of the new, smaller board.
In addition to Mayer, also exiting the current board of directors will be Yahoo co-founder and “Chief Yahoo” David Filo, former chairman of Tribune Publishing Eddy Hartenstein, former CEO and chairman of Novellus Systems Richard Hill, and former chairman of the board of Intel Corp. Jane Shaw. Yahoo board chairman and founder of Webb Investment Network Maynard Webb will become Chairman Emeritus of the board.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the new name is a combo of “alternate” and “Alibaba,” reflecting assets that the company will retain, including its stake in Alibaba, post-deal.
Those changes are coming as Yahoo pushes ahead with its $4.38 billion deal with Verizon.
RELATED: Verizon Agrees to Buy Yahoo for $4.83B
Recent disclosures of data breaches at Yahoo impacting more than 1 billion accounts have cast some doubt on that deal, and whether Verizon might move to scuttle it or seek a lower price. Verizon has held firm on its position that it will continue to evaluate the situation before reaching any final conclusions.
