Yahoo to sell Dubai office
Internet portal is closing down its Dubai Internet City office by end of this month
Dubai: Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer said the company would shed its real estate in places including Burbank and Santa Clara, California, Milan and Dubai, after disclosing its first-quarter results.
The company suffered a net loss of $99 million (Dh363 million), compared with a profit of $21 million for the same quarter last year, she said that the company will sell off patents it no longer needs, and close seven digital magazines in travel, food and parenting.
The company had told Gulf News in December that it is closing its Dubai office by end of this month.
The US internet giant had closed its Jordan and Egypt offices in 2014.
The Dubai Internet City-based company has cut down its operations after entering the Arab World, with the acquisition of Maktoob for $164 million in 2009, as part of restructuring in bid to drive more user traffic and revenue growth.
There were rumours of Yahoo closing down its Dubai office in November 2014.
Consumer services
When contacted, the telephone operator at its Dubai office said that he was the lone man in the office and some are working from home.
“We are incredibly grateful for our employees’ hard work and contributions. We will continue to provide our suite of consumer services in Arabic and English and our advertising inventory through Yahoo marketplaces and other advertising exchanges,” said Carolyn Clark, senior communications manager at Yahoo, in December.
An industry expert said that the portal is closing offices outside the US as it faces pressure from the growth in Google and Facebook and its CEO Merissa Myers is facing mounting pressure to quit.
“The company is focusing on building its operations in the US through acquisitions. Yahoo still has a long way to go to be in the position of Google and Facebook,” he said.
Drop in revenue
On Tuesday, executives said they would continue to explore a sale of the company and expand mobile and video advertising, even as Yahoo reported that revenue had fallen by 11 per cent over the past year.
Selling of its real estate make sense for the Web portal and Dubai was the last place in the Middle East.
The company is under pressure to find a buyer quickly for its internet operations.
The potential buyers are Verizon, TPG and one that pairs Bain Capital with upstart Vista Equity Partners that includes a passel of former Yahoo execs, such as former interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, former media exec Ken Fuchs and former ad exec Bill Wise.
