Yahoo Chairman and Directors Step Down; Yet to Overcome Crisis

"We are also in active discussions with our partners in Asia regarding the possibility of restructuring our holdings in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. The complexity and unique nature of these transactions is significant," the letter said.

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Bostock will leave soon after the surprise departure of cofounder Jerry Yang, blamed for turning down a rich acquisition offer by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) near the height of Yahoo's valuation. It comes shortly after the appointment of former PayPal President Scott Thompson to the CEO post, replacing the fired Carol Bartz.

A Web pioneer, Yahoo has seen its revenue growth stall in revcent years as rivals Facebook and Google Inc (GOOG.O) have increased their share of online advertising spending.

Thompson, credited with driving growth at eBay's online payments division PayPal, joins Yahoo during a period of turmoil, as the company plows ahead with a strategic review in which discussions have included the possibility of being sold, taken private or broken up.

Many investors hope Yahoo will sell or spin off its Asian assets, with some speculating that Thompson may focus on developing Yahoo's core online media business.

But one of Yahoo's major institutional investors described the company's efforts at striking a deal to spin off its Asian assets as "painfully slow."

While the shareholder said the departure of Bostock was "monstrously overdue," he noted that the changes to the board would not necessarily accelerate the dealmaking process or bolster his confidence in the company.

"I'm not highly confident about anything given that group, and now I don't know who the group is," said the shareholder, who wished to remain anonymous. "I have a choice of uncertainty or almost a certainty that they'll make a bad decision. It's like the lesser of two evils."

Bostock and fellow board members Vyomesh Joshi, Gary Wilson and Arthur Kern will not stand for re-election at the next shareholders' meeting, Bostock said in Tuesday's letter.

The changes come a few weeks before dissident shareholders can nominate rival directors to Yahoo's board. In November, activist hedge fund manager and Yahoo shareholder Dan Loeb, of Third Point LLC, called for Bostock and Yang to resign from the board and demanded the right to appoint two of his own directors to the board.