Goodbye Yahoo, Hello Altaba: Tech Company Changing Its Name

SAN FRANCISCO BAY PENINSULA, CA — Technology company Yahoo will change its name to Altaba if and when its merger with Verizon goes through, the Sunnyvale-based entity revealed in a Jan. 9 Security and Exchange Commission filing.

In the filing, Yahoo broke the news in a brief sentence that states the company's board of directors is behind the post-merger change but offers no rationale behind it.

"The Board also determined that, following the Closing, it intends to cause the Company’s name to be changed to Altaba Inc.," Yahoo General Counsel and Secretary Ronald S. Bell stated in the document.

The Washington Post reported that the new name "is meant to be a combination of the words 'alternative and Alibaba'.” Yahoo holds a stake in Alibaba, a Chinese online shopping giant.

The filing also states that five Yahoo directors are stepping down at the time of the sale, including current CEO Marissa Mayer, who's been the face of the company since being hired in 2012 and is one of the more powerful women in the technology industry.

Yahoo co-founder David Filo is among the four other members of the board who'll step down after the deal closes, Yahoo said, along with Eddy Hartenstein, Richard Hill, Jane Shaw and Maynard Webb.

Following the deal's closing, the size of the company's board will be reduced to five directors. Tor Braham, Eric Brandt, Catherine Friedman, Thomas McInerney and Jeffrey Smith will continue to serve as directors, and Brandt will serve as chairman of the board.

Verizon has the framework of a deal in place to buy Yahoo's core business, which includes the email, digital advertising and media assets, for $4.83 billion. Although the deal was announced in July 2016, it's still pending regulatory approval.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has signed off on the deal, but it still needs approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the European Commission regulatory body.

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