Boardroom shake-up at ailing Yahoo

Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock and three long-time board members are stepping down, fulfilling the wishes of many frustrated shareholders who believe the directors have been part of the problem that has dragged down the internet company’s revenue and stock price.

The shake-up continues a drastic makeover of Yahoo’s leadership during the past month.

After Yahoo hired former PayPal executive Scott Thompson as its chief executive a few days into the new year, co-founder Jerry Yang resigned from the board and severed all other ties with the company, which he helped start in 1995.

Now Mr Bostock is departing after four years as chairman. Many shareholders still blame him and Mr Yang for squandering an opportunity to sell Yahoo to Microsoft Corp in May 2008 for $47.5bn, or $33 per share.

Yahoo’s stock has not traded above $20 in nearly three and a half years. The shares closed at $15.82, up by a penny.

In extended trading after the announcement, the stock fell to $15.79.

In a move that will give Mr Thompson an even cleaner slate as he tries to come up with a new strategy, Yahoo board members Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern and Gary Wilson also agreed not to seek re-election at Yahoo’s shareholders meeting this June.