Yahoo to change its name to Altaba

[Shiyonasan]

Of all the names they could've chosen, they chose Altaba?

Sources: Yahoo!, DailyMail, multiple other official sources

The end of Yahoo: Marissa Mayer to resign and firm to change its name to Altaba if $4.8bn Verizon takeover gets go ahead

• Details were revealed in an SEC filing by the firm
• Believed Mayer would walk away with a $55 million severance package
• Claims deal is on the rocks after a fresh hacking scandal at the internet

It could be the end of an era for the internet.

Yahoo has revealed it plans to change its name to Altaba, while beleaguered boss Marissa Mayer will leave, if the firm is bought by Verizon.

The SEC filing has revealed the firm's plans - despite ongoing concerns the recent revelation user's accounts were hacked could scupper the $4.8bn deal.

Mayer, along with Yahoo cofounder David Filo and four other members of the board will step down after the deal closes, Yahoo said.

Verizon is acquiring Yahoo's operating business under the proposed transaction, while Yahoo's remaining business, which consists primarily of its stake in Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba and its partnership in Yahoo Japan, will continue to exist as a separate company.

The board resignations announced on Monday refer to the remaining investment company that's not going to Verizon, and which will be renamed 'Altbaba,' the company said.

Mayer's resignation from the new board is 'not due to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices,' the filing says.

The deal was rumoured to be on the rocks after a fresh hacking scandal at the beleaguered internet giant.

Hackers may have gained access to names, email addresses, telephone numbers, passwords and dates of birth, as well as security questions and answers.

It could potentially help criminals get inside bank accounts, social media pages and online shopping profiles.

The attack, which happened three years ago, but was only made public on Wednesday, is thought to be the biggest in history.

Last week a senior Verizon Communications Inc executive said that the company was unsure about its planned acquisition of Yahoo Inc's internet business.

In the SEC filing, Yahoo says: 'In light of the fact that following the Closing the Company will operate as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Board has determined that, immediately following the Closing, the size of the Board will be reduced to five (5) directors.

'Tor Braham, Eric Brandt, Catherine Friedman, Thomas McInerney and Jeffrey Smith will continue to serve as directors of the Company following the Closing, and Mr. Brandt will serve as Chairman of the Board.

'Each of David Filo, Eddy Hartenstein, Richard Hill, Marissa Mayer, Jane Shaw and Maynard Webb has indicated that he or she intends to resign from the Board effective upon the Closing, and that his or her intention to resign is not due to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices.'

[...]

[Rejoyce]

But Yahoo is a widely recognized brand name! Altaba sounds like a medication. "Ask your doctor about Altaba! Side effects may include dizziness, vomiting, and spontaneous combustion."

More importantly, will all those yahoo email accounts now be @altaba.com? Bleaaah.

[EyeOdyssey]

Guess "Wahoo!" was already taken.

[Kitty Lue]

Guess "Wahoo!" was already taken.

Yes.

[Astro Forever]

Thanks for the news, Shiyonasan. Strange name indeed.

But Yahoo is a widely recognized brand name! Altaba sounds like a medication. "Ask your doctor about Altaba! Side effects may include dizziness, vomiting, and spontaneous combustion."

More importantly, will all those yahoo email accounts now be @altaba.com? Bleaaah.

Hmmm, I would assume they would at least have to keep forwarders. It wouldn't make sense to make everyone switch e-mail addresses entered everywhere. I think Microsoft, for one, came up or ended up with various domains through the years, like hotmail.com, msn.com and a few others. I don't think they voided the older ones.

[AstroAllies]

They must have a reason behind the new name. For me, Altaba name resembles to "Alibaba" - maybe because of their stake in Alibaba?
And yes, I'm wondering about what would happen with all Yahoo email accounts.

[fafner]

I can't imagine the old domains disappearing entirely. They will certainly at least keep the previously existing e-mail addresses valid.

What I hope though is they will at last get rid of that exclamation mark at the end of their name so I won't have multiple parse errors in my brain when reading a sentence where Yahoo! appears

[DrFrag]

What I hope though is they will at last get rid of that exclamation mark at the end of their name so I won't have multiple parse errors in my brain when reading a sentence where Yahoo! appears

Instead of viewing it as a grammar problem, think of it as a maths problem.

Yahoo! = Yahoo factorial
Y, a, h, and o are all undefined so treat them as zero.
Yahoo! = 0

Makes total sense now.

[fafner]

I usually don't put mathematical formulae in sentences, because of this kind of problem

And if Y, a, h, and o are undefined, it doesn't yield 0. I think the end result would look more like that

Code: Select all

yahoo.c:1:39: error: 'Y' undeclared (first use in this function)
yahoo.c:1:41: error: 'a' undeclared (first use in this function)
yahoo.c:1:43: error: 'h' undeclared (first use in this function)
yahoo.c:1:45: error: 'o' undeclared (first use in this function)

[DrFrag]

And if Y, a, h, and o are undefined, it doesn't yield 0.

Hahaha, I knew you'd pick me up on that.