Yahoo! Inc. (YAHOO) Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer delivered a message yesterday to activist shareholder Starboard Value LP: I’ve got this.
Mayer began a defense of her leadership yesterday with a third-quarter earnings report that included sales that topped analysts’ estimates. She followed up with a conference call where she talked up her stewardship of the company, ticking off a list of points to show that her turnaround effort is making progress. Mayer argued she has a clear acquisition strategy for growth and said she is focused on maximizing value for shareholders.
The comments show how Mayer is going on the offense after facing pressure from Starboard -- even though she didn’t once mention the activist fund in her remarks. Last month, Starboard questioned Mayer’s management and called for a breakup of the Sunnyvale, California-based company, in order to unlock more shareholder value. Starboard also asked that Yahoo cease from dealmaking and cut costs.
“Today was really a good opportunity for us to show the progress we’ve made,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg News yesterday. “We were able to reap the fruits of some of what we’ve been sowing over the past few years.”
Starboard didn’t respond to a request for comment...[culled from Bloomberg]
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