Yahoo changes employee-severance language prior to possible sale

Yahoo Inc., which has been in talks to sell its core Web business and Asian assets, has modified the definition of “change in control” in its employee-severance plans.

An amendment on April 10 clarified that a sale of all or substantially all of Yahoo’s operating business would constitute a change in control, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal reported April 10 that the parent company of the Daily Mail, the British newspaper and global tabloid website, is in talks with several private-equity firms about a possible bid for Yahoo. Yahoo has drawn a wide range of suitors. Verizon Communications Inc. is considered the front-runner, the Journal has reported.

Additionally, Yahoo said Thursday that severance agreements of certain executives have been amended.

The severance agreements had provided that, in the event of a termination without cause, any annual vesting installment scheduled within six months of termination would accelerate. Yahoo said it “generally moved to monthly vesting rather than cliff vesting” for new equity awards.

Source:  Market Watch