By Alexei Oreskovic and Jennifer Saba
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activist INVESTOR (INVEB.ES)Starboard Value LP said on Friday it has acquired a "significant" stake in Yahoo Inc
Shares of Yahoo Inc rose about 4 percent to $40.54 early Friday afternoon, while shares of AOL jumped 2.77 percent to $44.16.
Starboard said a Yahoo-AOL merger could create up to $1 billion in "synergies" by reducing overlaps in online display advertising and other overhead costs. In a letter to Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer, Starboard said it was looking forward to "engaging directly" with Yahoo to discuss how its plan could be implemented in a timely manner.
"I don't think it will happen but I do think Yahoo is now in play. It puts more pressure on Mayer," Ironfire Capital founder Eric Jackson said, referring to a potential merger with AOL.
"Between now and four months from now someone will want to submit a short board slate and they will have a strong case," said Jackson who owns a stake in Yahoo. "Mayer is really under the gun to create value for shareholders and prove she is doing a better job than anyone else can do."
Starboard's involvement in Yahoo marks the latest chapter in Yahoo's protracted effort to revamp the Internet pioneer whose revenue growth has lagged competitors such as Google Inc
Shares of Yahoo have surged by more than 150 percent since Mayer took the helm in 2012, but investors say most of the gains have been due to the fast-rising value of Yahoo's stakes in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
Representatives from Yahoo and AOL did not immediately return requests for comment.
Figuring out a tax-efficient way to "monetize" the Asian stakes should be the top priority for Yahoo's management and its board, Starboard said, noting in the letter that a merger with AOL would be one way to achieve that.
The investor has explored several "alternative structures" that could deliver directly to shareholders with "minimal tax leakage," it said.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by David Gregorio and Richard Chang)
Relacionados
- Riera señala que ya ha fijado un calendario de reuniones con entidades educativas, sindicatos y asociaciones de padres
- Casi un 39% de las entidades locales menores de CyL ha rendido la cuenta de 2013, requisito legal para no desaparecer
- Entidades sociales urgen al Govern a definir el perfil de familias con pobreza energética
- Formentera subvenciona con 10.835 euros a cuatro entidades que trabajan para la inserción de los inmigrantes
- Más de 80 entidades y casi 900 personas se adhieren al manifiesto por cierre del CIE
