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Up 87% since Mr. Loeb took his board seat, Yahoo's stock was
down more than 4% Monday morning in the wake of the news.
Sameet Sinha, senior analyst at investment bank B. Riley &
Co., said Mr. Loeb's primary achievement at Yahoo was Ms. Mayer's
hire, but that the activist investor didn't necessarily impact the
company's value on Wall Street. "Yahoo's stock price has not gone
up because [Ms. Mayer] has done anything significant, but because
Alibaba's value [i.e. the value of Yahoo's stake in the Chinese
e-commerce company] has gone up the in the last year," he said.
"I think it's good that Dan has decided he should just let Yahoo
run its business the way the company wants to and not dictate it.
He's put it on the right track," Mr. Sinha added.
Mr. Loeb's influence isn't evaporating entirely. Third Point is
retaining 20 million shares, or a less-than-2% stake in Yahoo. And
PayPal co-founder and
Third Point nominee Max Levchin will retain his seat.
July 22, 2013
Yahoo! Announces Repurchase of 40 Million Shares Held By Third
Point
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO)
today announced that it has entered into an agreement to repurchase
40 million shares of Yahoo! common stock beneficially owned by
Third Point LLC ("Third Point"), at a purchase price of $29.11 per
share. The purchase price equals the closing price of Yahoo! common
stock on July 19, 2013.
Following the repurchase, Third Point will beneficially own
approximately 20 million shares, representing less than 2 percent
of Yahoo!'s outstanding common stock. In accordance with the
Board's settlement agreement announced on May 13, 2012, each of the
directors originally nominated by Third Point -- Daniel S. Loeb,
Harry J. Wilson, and Michael J. Wolf -- have submitted their
resignations from Yahoo!'s board of directors, effective July 31,
2013. The Board will then comprise seven members. Max Levchin, who
was appointed as a director upon mutual agreement between Third
Point and the Board, will remain on the Board. The remaining
directors are committed to revisiting the Board's size and
composition.
"Daniel Loeb had the vision to see Yahoo for its immense
potential - the potential to return to greatness as a company and
the potential to deliver significant shareholder value," said
Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer. "On behalf of the Board and our entire
team, I'd like to take this opportunity to personally thank Dan,
Michael, and Harry for the tremendous opportunities they created
here at Yahoo!. They have been incredibly supportive as we have
built our executive staff and developed our strategy, and they have
helped position Yahoo! for future success. While there's still a
lot of work ahead, they've given us a great foundation."
"Harry, Michael and I are pleased to have played key roles in
Yahoo's resurgence since we joined the Board last spring," said
Third Point CEO Daniel S. Loeb. "Since our Board's rigorous search
led us to hire Marissa Mayer as CEO, Yahoo!'s stock price has
nearly doubled, delivering significant value for shareholders. I'm
confident that with Marissa at the helm and her team's focus on
innovation and engaging users, Yahoo! has a bright future."
Yahoo! previously announced a plan to purchase an additional
$1.9 billion of Yahoo! common stock; the new repurchase agreement
becomes part of that plan. Upon completion of this repurchase,
approximately $700 million will remain under the $5 billion buyback
authorization announced last year, on which the Company plans to
continue to execute. Yahoo! expects to fund the transaction
primarily with cash, and the transaction is accretive to earnings
per share (EPS).
