Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo, is to stand down as chief executive officer following failed takeover talks of the internet giant which have led to its share price dropping to around $10.

Earlier in the year Yang fended off a hostile takeover from rivals Microsoft; however he has been heavily criticised for his stewardship of the company of late, especially as Microsoft had offered $33 per share.

It is believed that Yang made his decision to leave the company last month. He wrote to Yahoo staff informing them in an email that he "will always do what is right for this great company".

Yahoo said that a successor is currently being sought to fill Yang's position.

Yang co-created Yahoo along with David Filo while at Stanford University in the US in April 1994. Originally called "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" it was renamed Yahoo shortly after.

The name Yahoo is an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle" but Yang and Filo said it was chosen because they liked the definition of a yahoo as someone who is "rude, unsophisticated and uncouth".

Yahoo is currently undertaking an overhaul of its homepage which has more than 300 million unique users each month worldwide.

www.yahoo.co.uk

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