The logo of Yahoo. Photo / AP
Yahoo was already a shell of its former self. Now part of the company is getting an obscure new name: Altaba.
When Verizon agreed to buy the company for $4.8 billion in July 2016, it planned to purchase just Yahoo's core Internet businesses, which include its email service, sports verticals
and various apps. What's left of the embattled technology company would essentially be its ownership in the very valuable Chinese Internet giant Alibaba.
When the deal closes, the remaining part will change its name to Altaba, the company announced in security filings on Monday. The sale is expected to be completed by late March.
The new name is meant to be a combination of the words "alternative and Alibaba," according to a person familiar with the company's thinking, who didn't want to be named because the individual was not authorized to speak on the record about the name change.
Today Yahoo owns roughly 15 percent of Alibaba, holdings that are worth about $35 billion. The idea behind the name is that Altaba's stock can now be tracked as an alternative to Alibaba because Yahoo owns a sizeable chunk of the Chinese company.
