Yahoo said Wednesday it will add four Starboard Value-aligned directors to its board effective immediately as part of an agreement to avoid a showdown with the activist investor.
The Starboard additions will include Tor R. Braham, Eddy W. Hartenstein, Richard S. Hill, and Starboard CEO and Chief Investment Officer Jeffrey C. Smith, who will also join Yahoo’s Strategic Review Committee.
Additionally, Yahoo said two of its incumbent directors – Lee Scott and Sue James – have chosen not to stand for re-election at its annual shareholder meeting this summer. Following the meeting, the board will have 11 members.
Starboard, which previously sought to replace Yahoo’s entire board, has dropped its previous board nominees as part of the deal.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said the deal will allow the company to concentrate on its ongoing sale progress and rehabilitation efforts.
“This constructive resolution will allow management and the board to keep our focus on our extremely important objectives,” Mayer said in a statement. “Management is looking forward to working with the entire board, including the new directors, to maximize shareholder value.”
The agreement settles months of acrimony between Yahoo and Starboard at a time when the former is digging into a review of bids for its core web business. Though it didn’t gain full control of Yahoo, Starboard’s four board members will certainly have a hand in steering the sale process.
Last week, Yahoo reportedly received more than 10 offers ranging from $4 billion to $8 billion for its Internet business.
According to Bloomberg, bidders included U.S. wireless carrier Verizon, private equity firm TPG and digital advertising business YP Holdings LLC, formerly known as Yellowpages.com.
The acquisition of Yahoo has the potential to net Verizon an audience of one billion users on Yahoo’s email, finance, sports and video sites, as well as its exclusive content. Both could help Verizon gain traction as a major player in video advertising, Bloomberg said.
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said in February some of Yahoo’s assets would make a good fit for the carrier’s AOL business, which Verizon sees as a future growth engine for the company.
