Yahoo! (YHOO) is cracking?
Yahoo! to reorganize into three groups. The company official press release indicates that they will now align themselves around three key customer segments: “audiences, advertisers/publishers and technology”
“The Internet is continuing to grow and evolve at a rapid pace, and we’re reshaping Yahoo! to be a leader in this transformation, just as we did successfully five years ago,” said Terry Semel, Yahoo chairman and CEO, in the release. “Our strategy capitalizes on big emerging trends and leverages our core strengths in search, media, communities and communications. We believe having a more customer-focused organization, supported by robust technology, will speed the development of leading-edge experiences for our most valuable audience segments.”
Dan Rosensweig, Yahoo COO, who will depart from the company by the end of March. According to most reports, Lloyd Braun who heads the Media Group has also left the company. David Katz who joined Yahoo from CBS is also out. Sue Decker has been promoted to lead the advertiser and publisher group. A new CFO is to be hired. A new executive from outside the company is to be named to lead their audience group.
These changes come as no surprise, particularly given Yahoo’s recent stumble and criticism for not having clear focus. The Brad Garlinghouse memo may have been the catalyst but it’s possible that this is only the ceremonious opening of the floodgates. No layoff was announced, but it doesn’t mean there won’t be one announced later.
This move is a clear sign Yahoo! is serious! The street should view this as a positive. I suspect Yahoo’s share will start to move up from here. Our recommendation is to buy Yahoo! (YHOO) at this low price. The $27/share won't last much longer.
