Deals
Yahoo Activist Starboard Said to Urge Breakup First, Sale Second
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When he meets Marissa Mayer, activist fund manager Jeff Smith will urge the chief executive of Yahoo! Inc. to break up the company before it attempts any asset sales, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Smith’s suggestion that Yahoo seek a sale to a rival such as AOL Inc. grabbed headlines, after the manager of Starboard Value LP proposed the idea in a Sept. 26 letter. Smith also wrote that just separating Yahoo’s business of Internet search and advertising from its investments in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Yahoo Japan Corp. could add nearly $16 billion of value as the pieces are marked higher by investors.