Yahoo shareholders on Thursday approved selling the company’s Internet properties for $4.48 billion, closing a chapter on one of Silicon Valley’s iconic tech companies. After the deal closes — expected on Tuesday — shareholders of Yahoo stock will become shareholders of Altaba Inc., which…
Yahoo shareholders on Thursday approved selling the company’s Internet properties for $4.48 billion, closing a chapter on one of Silicon Valley’s iconic tech companies.
“There’s been so many changes here, ” said shareholder Jean Stables, who has owned Yahoo stock for two decades, back when it was popular portal to the Internet. “It’s more important that they keep the properties going than whatever they are called, ” she added.
After the deal closes — expected on Tuesday — shareholders of Yahoo stock will become shareholders of Altaba Inc., which oversees the company’s investments in Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba and tech firm Yahoo Japan, a portfolio of patents called Excalibur and cash.
For several shareholders entering the short meeting at the Santa Clara Marriott on Thursday, the choice to sell Yahoo’s Internet properties, which include Yahoo Mail, News and Sports, was inevitable. The company has tried to reinvent itself over the years but had trouble competing with Google on search and struggled amid the rise of mobile advertising leaders like Facebook.
Not all shareholders favored the sale to Verizon. Elfriede Adams, who owns roughly 1,500 shares in Yahoo, said she was against the sale because she believes it could lead to a monopoly.
“I’ m not in favor of companies buying other companies, ” Adams said.
One Yahoo tech employee, who declined to be named, attended the meeting to place a vote against the sale.
“I think (Yahoo is) capable of making it on their own, ” he said.
