Why is Yahoo changing its name to Altaba?

The company known as Yahoo is changing its name to Altaba, but the branding consumers are familiar with will remain and become a part of Verizon.

When news broke that Verizon officially acquired Yahoo for $4.8 billion, the move was made to change the company’s name to Altaba. The new name is a combination of the words “alternative” and “Alibaba.”

In July 2016 when Verizon set out to acquire Yahoo, it planned to only purchase the company’s Internet businesses, including its email service, sports verticals, and several apps. However, the technology company is essentially now just the very valuable Chinese Internet giant Alibaba.

Its name change reflects how far Yahoo has fallen. Once an Internet giant, the company is still the third most visited site in the United States, but is essentially a placeholder for Alibaba’s stock.

The new company will be traded publicly and has been referred to as RemainCo up until now, and owns 35.5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo cash, and a patent portfolio that is being sold off in a separate auction.

“We are confident in Yahoo’s value and we continue to work towards integration with Verizon,” Yahoo spokeswoman, Suzanna Philion, said.

The company announced in the filings that Eric Brandt, former finance chief of Broadcom, will be the new chairman of Yahoo’s board. Six directors, including CEO Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s chairman, Maynard Webb, and Yahoo founder, David Filo, will step down from the board.

Mayer is a former Google executive, and was brought to Yahoo to lead the company in 2012 as it struggled with layoffs and restructuring. She attempted to turn around its declining Internet fortunes. Four years prior, Yahoo rejected a $44.6 billion acquisition offer by Microsoft. Yahoo’s revenues dropped from $7 billion in 2007 to $4.4 billion in 2011.

The changes mentioned above, of course, all depend on whether Yahoo actually closes the sale of its primary Internet business to Verizon. Considering the last two major Yahoo hacks, the second that affected more than a billion user accounts, Verizon is weighing its options. The company is considering paying less than the agreed-upon $4.8 million, but Verizon execs are hopeful the deal will close. The sale is expected to complete by late March 2017.

Source: The Washington Post