Yahoo Inc.’s board ousted Chief Executive Carol Bartz Tuesday after growing impatient with the lack of a turnaround at the once-highflying Web company.
The move was abrupt, amid a raft of competitive and strategic challenges facing Yahoo. Ms. Bartz, 62 years old, was informed of the board’s decision by phone and wasn’t expecting the change, said a person familiar with the matter.
Yahoo’s stock jumped more than 6% to $13.72 in after-hours trading after news of Ms. Bartz’s exit was reported by All Things D, a technology website that, like The Wall Street Journal, is owned by News Corp.
Independent directors did a study of Yahoo’s assets and performance in the past two weeks and concluded the company wasn’t performing as well as it could, said a person familiar with the matter. The review came after nearly a year of board discussions about Yahoo’s flagging performance, and the independent directors ultimately decided a change at the top was the only way to turn things around, according to two people familiar with the matter.
One of these people said Yahoo is open to selling itself to the right bidder.
The board named Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse to be interim CEO while it searches for a replacement for Ms. Bartz.
According to several people familiar with the situation, Ms. Bartz wrote a brief memo to employees Tuesday afternoon saying: “I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.” She didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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