Yahoo Co-Founder Jerry Yang Resigns

It may probably be a sad time for Yahoo, but it has been a long time coming. The company’s long standing co-founder, Jerry Yang, has resigned from his post on the Yahoo Board of Directors and everything that has got to do with Yahoo. His 17-year stay with the company that he co-founded with David Filo has reached an end.

According to Yang on a press release sent out to Yahoo Board Chairman Roy Bostock, he is going “to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo”. Yang’s stay with the beleaguered Web giant has gone through its ups and downs. He sat on the company’s board since its start in 1995 and has been with its ups and downs. He even served as Yahoo CEO from 2007 to 2009 just at a time when the company is getting at a crossroads due to difficulties after years of being recognized as a Web giant.

But Yang may probably be best known for rejecting Microsoft’s offer of $47.5 billion to take over the company in 2008 for $33 a share. During that time, Yahoo was trading at around the near 30’s a share. But it has since taken a sharp nosedive, probably as a result of its many Web products failing to make expected earnings. It may also be partly be blamed on Yang’s rejection of Microsoft’s offer, which created a rift between him and the company’s investors. Currently Yahoo’s share prices averages around $15 per share.

Yang’s resignation from the Yahoo Board may be taken as a good sign by most people and the company’s investors, which may still have been carrying an ounce of regret over the failed Microsoft takeover. With Yang’s departure, Yahoo may now continue on to shake up its ranks in order to push the Web company back into relevance once again, not that it is not. It currently is still a much recognized media company on the Web. But the years of struggle that it has gone through and is currently going through made it lose out on its influence and market reach considerably.

But hope is still up for the company. After all, it is still considered as a popular site worldwide. And it also offers quite an interesting acquisition for other Web companies. There are talks that Microsoft may be renewing its bid for Yahoo, albeit on a scaled down offer unlike before. Other interested parties may be the Alibaba Group and Softbank, Yahoo’s Asian partners.

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