Yahoo on Wednesday announced that it has reached a deal with Starboard Value to add four independent directors, thus avoiding a proxy fight with a key investor that has been seeking radical changes at the company.
Under the agreement, Starboard CEO Jeff Smith will join Yahoo as an independent director and will be a member of the company's Strategic Review Committee, which has been in negotiations with several suitors for Yahoo's core Web business.
Eddy Hartenstein, former DirecTV and Tribune CEO; Richard Hill, chairman of Tessera Technologies; and Tor Braham, former global head of technology mergers at Deutsche Bank, also will join as independent directors, Yahoo said.
As part of the agreement, Starboard has withdrawn its slate of nominees to the Yahoo board.
Get Down to Business
"The constructive resolution will allow management and the board to keep our focus on our extremely important objectives," Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said, adding that management is looking forward to working with the entire board, including the new directors, to increase shareholder value.