Yahoo Shareholder Pushes New Plan - The Last Two Points
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In the eighth point of Plan B, Jackson calls for Yahoo to pay a modest annual cash dividend on its stock. He thinks that five cents a share is about right; it comes to about $40 million a year, which should not inhibit the company’s ability to compete effectively. Why? “More important than the cash to shareholders (which does increase value in and of itself), the dividend would be an additional discipline to Yahoo! management to spend its cash wisely. It would also symbolize management’s confidence in the business, moving forward, that it will plan for and can sustain this dividend to shareholders.” In short, it’s another note in the theme of accountability and taking responsibility that runs through the plan.
The ninth point of Plan B is almost icing on the cake, a slap in the face of management trying to protect itself from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Jackson notes that Yahoo’s most recent 10-Q filing cites anti-takeover provisions which “could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us” as a risk factor facing the company. But Jackson believes that “These anti-takeover provisions are not shareholder-friendly. They do not serve shareholders’ interests, but management’s. They should be swept aside immediately.”
While much of the buzz surrounding this grassroots campaign has been positive, Jackson has certainly received his share of heat. Some of the comments on his blog, especially in reply to the finalized version of Plan B, have accused him of being self-serving, to put it mildly. On the other hand, at least one observer thinks the plan doesn’t go far enough. With Yahoo being a weakening second to Google, the latter’s dominance of the field will only continue to increase, squeezing out the rest of the competition. This is bad for those of us who want to see continued search innovation.
Jackson may not have all the answers; his grassroots campaign may not even succeed. But he has brought a focus to Yahoo’s woes, and how deeply they need to be repaired, that not even the company’s own restructuring plan (released early in December) has been able to bring to bear. One way or another, Yahoo will be forced to find its way; let’s hope it leads to a stronger future for the search engine.
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