Yahoo shares rise after CEO Carol Bartz fired
Shares of Yahoo Inc. rose after the company's board fired chief executive Carol Bartz over the phone on Tuesday.
Yahoo reportedly fired Bartz over the lack of turnaround at the company, which was formerly a top search engine but has lost ground to Google and also been hurt by Facebook, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Bartz, who joined Yahoo in 2009, announced her firing in a note to employees, the technology website AllThingsD reports. “I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board,” wrote Bartz.
Yahoo's stock jumped more than 6 percent to $13.72 in after-hours trading after news of Bartz's exit was reported by AllThingsD. The company's shares opened up to nearly $14 per share Wednesday before leveling off, CNET reports.
In a statement, Yahoo's chairman of the board said the move was aimed at improving the company's standing in the online marketplace.
"The board sees enormous growth opportunities on which Yahoo! can capitalize, and our primary objective is to leverage the company's leadership and current business assets and platforms to execute against these opportunities," board chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement, according to CNET.
"We have talented teams and tremendous resources behind them and intend to return the company to a path of robust growth and industry-leading innovation. We are committed to exploring and evaluating possibilities and opportunities that will put Yahoo! on a trajectory for growth and innovation and deliver value to shareholders," he said.
Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse will step in as interim CEO while the board searches for a replacement for Bartz.
Yahoo is currently bidding to buy video site Hulu LLC, and this will not be affected by Bartz's dismissal, the WSJ reports.
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