The troubled internet giant announced in a public filing on Monday that it will change its name to Altaba following the $4.8 sale of its core business to telecom titan Verizon, marking the end of one of the most famous brand names in Silicon Valley history.
Yahoo didn't provide an explanation for what “Altaba” means or why it was selected as the new name of the company. But it’s worth noting that the name is phonetically similar to “Alibaba,” the name of the Chinese internet giant that is part-owned by Yahoo.
The company also announced that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, the veteran former Google executive who tried and failed to turn around the internet pioneer, will exit the company’s board after more than four years at the helm. Yahoo co-founder David Filo is also leaving the company.
Monday’s announcement is just the latest surprising twist for a company that from its founding in 1994 helped define the first major stage of the web, first as a “guide to the World Wide Web” and later a search engine, but one that has long since been eclipsed by Silicon Valley rivals like Google, and more recently, Facebook and Twitter.
Once the company’s core internet business sold, Yahoo (Altaba) will effectively become an investment company, with significant stakes in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan, along with some intellectual property and other assets. Yahoo’s 15% stake in Alibaba is worth in excess of $30 billion.
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Originally Posted by Shizzmoney
