Yahoo! (YHOO) Stock Slumps on Ad Product Chief’s Departure Plans

A more disruptive plan came from Eric Jackson, managing director at SpringOwl, an investment firm with a minority share in Yahoo.

Mayer’s total compensation, if she stays for a full five years at Yahoo, will be $365 million, Jackson says in his presentation, citing SEC filings.

Firing Mayer would cost at least $25 million in severance, and she’s now on maternity leave.

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to reveal the twin’ names or weights.

The wide variance between the proposals put forth by Canyon Capital, SpringOwl and Starboard Value LP, the activist investor who has pressured Yahoo over the past year, highlights the different directions the Internet business could go if it chooses to abandon Ms. Mayer’s turnaround.

“Whoever is the next CEO will need to take Yahoo core down to its studs in terms of its costs”, Jackson said. So firing her would be tricky.

He added that Reses, who was formerly chief development officer at Yahoo and left for payment processor Square in the fall, is interesting because she is familiar with the company and also has a private equity background, having worked at Apax Partners before joining Yahoo.

SpringOwl lobbied for Yahoo to draw on cash reserves, sell real estate, and even borrow money to buy back shares and push up the stock price.

A small Yahoo shareholder is calling for an overhaul that would remove CEO Marissa Mayer and wipe away the hallmarks of her tenure.

– Focus Yahoo’s business exclusively on its legacy products like its home page and mail, doubling down on Yahoo Finance and Sports to grow traffic. “It would be nice if history had gone differently for Yahoo, but it didn’t and we all must live in reality now”.

Yahoo’s board said last week that it is not actively exploring a sale. If Yahoo didn’t reconsider the Alibaba plan, Starboard threatened to lead a shareholder mutiny aimed at overthrowing the board next year.

Yahoo Chairman Maynard Webb said in a statement that the company became concerned about the original plan to spin off the Alibaba stake in part because of the market’s perception of tax risk.

Canyon Capital Advisors LLC, a Los Angeles investment firm that ranks among Yahoo’s 15 largest shareholders, sent a letter to the board Friday urging it to find a buyer for its core Internet business or the entire company, according to a document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.