Shareholder presses Yahoo to change leadership, sell Internet biz

NEW YORK - New year, same old problems for Yahoo (YHOO).

A major shareholder in the beleaguered Internet company, activist investor Starboard Value, is demanding that Yahoo overhaul its leadership in a bid to energize growth.

In a letter to Yahoo's board, CEO Marissa Mayer and Chairman Maynard Webb, Starboard criticized the company's performance, saying that the management team hired to turn around the core business has "failed to produce acceptable results."

"Yahoo's current management has had over three years to demonstrate progress towards improving the core business, but despite these efforts, the core business continues to be plagued with deteriorating financial performance and an accelerating number of executive leadership departures," Starboard managing member Jeffrey Smith said in the letter.

Mayer became CEO of Yahoo in 2012 and Maynard Webb became chairman in 2013.

Starboard said that if a change is not made, an election may be needed to replace some members of the board.

Starboard said it thinks Yahoo can improve the performance of the core business and separate its assets, but that it will require a change in leadership and strategy.