Yahoo chief Yang quits, severs all ties

Yahoo Inc co-founder Jerry Yang has quit the internet company he started in 1995, bowing to angry shareholders who saw the internet pioneer pushing an ineffective business strategy and blocking investment deals that may have transformed the struggling company.

The departure comes two weeks after the company appointed Scott Thompson as its new CEO, with a mandate to return the once-leading internet portal to the heights it enjoyed in the 1990s.

According to market sentiment, the move would pave the way for a major infusion of cash from private equity investors, or a deal that would see Yahoo sell a slice of its 40-per cent stake in China's Alibaba, to unlock value for shareholders (See: Yahoo mulls sale of Asian assets worth around $17 billion: report)

Yahoo shares were up 3 per cent in after-hours trade after the news of Yang's departure.

Analysts say the broad assumption would see the development as more conducive to a deal with the Asia counterparts. They add shareholders saw Yang focused more on rebuilding Yahoo, and less on maximising near-term shareholder value.

Yang is making a total exit cutting all formal ties with the company by resigning all positions including his seat on the board of directors. He has been recently under flak for his handling of company affairs, dating back to an aborted sale to Microsoft in 2008.