股東呼籲雅虎剝離雅虎日本股權
Activist investor Starboard Value is urging Yahoo to go further with its break-up plans, calling on the internet company to spin off its stake in Yahoo Japan as part of a “major overhaul” that would narrow its focus.
The investor successfully lobbied for Yahoo to split off its $40bn stake in Chinese ecommerce group Alibaba, and said the move announced at the end of January was a “good first step”.
Starboard曾成功遊說雅虎剝離其在中國電商集團阿里巴巴(Alibaba)的400億美元股權，Starboard表示在1月底宣佈的這項舉措是“很好的第一步”。However, it said Yahoo’s financial performance as revenues decline in the core business was “unacceptable” and “troubling”, and that shareholders, analysts and industry executives still had “substantial scepticism” about the company’s management.
然而，Starboard表示，由於核心業務收入下滑，雅虎的財務表現“令人不可接受”和“擔憂”，股東、分析師和行業高管對雅虎管理層持“嚴重懷疑態度”。
Yahoo is led by former Googler Marissa Mayer who took charge in 2012 promising a turnround by reinventing its products from search to apps for the mobile age.
前谷歌(Google)副總裁瑪麗莎•梅耶爾(Marissa Mayer)於2012年接任雅虎總裁，她承諾將通過爲這個移動時代改造其產品（從搜索到應用軟件）實現復甦。In the letter addressed to Ms Mayer, Starboard estimated that a series of steps could unlock $11.1bn of value or $11.70 per share, including cost-cutting, exploring the sale or lease of intellectual property and real estate assets and returning more money to shareholders.
在寫給梅耶爾的這封信中，Starboard估計，一系列舉措可能會釋放111億美元的價值，合每股11.70美元，包括成本削減、探討出售或出租知識產權和房地產資產以及將更多資金返還給股東。Starboard’s biggest proposal was that Yahoo should separate its 35.5 per cent stake in Yahoo Japan, which it jointly owns with SoftBank, in a move it estimated could create up to $3.1bn in value.
Starboard最重要的提議是雅虎應剝離其在雅虎日本的35.5%股權，Starboard估計此舉可能會最多創造31億美元的價值。雅虎日本由雅虎與軟銀(SoftBank)共同所有。“In our view, continuing to invest huge sums to alter Yahoo’s competitive position in markets or product categories where the company has little history of past success will prove an expensive endeavour likely to produce sub-scale businesses, with potentially little competitive advantage, and suboptimal profitability.”
“我們認爲，事實將證明，繼續大規模投資，以期改變雅虎在那些過去無成功經驗的市場或產品中的競爭地位，將付出高昂代價，可能會造成業務不具規模，缺乏競爭優勢且盈利不佳。”Yahoo has already said it will consider all options for this stake after the Alibaba deal is complete.
雅虎已表示，將在與阿里巴巴股權有關的協議完成後，考慮有關這筆股權的所有選擇。Responding to the letter, a Yahoo spokesperson said: “We maintain an open dialogue with all of our shareholders and welcome input, and remain committed to delivering sustainable shareholder value through the continued execution of our strategy.”
雅虎發言人在對此信迴應稱：“我們將繼續與所有股東展開開放對話並歡迎各種建議，同時將繼續執行目前的戰略以實現可持續的股東價值。”
