Yahoo (NasdaqGS: YHOO - news) co-founder Jerry Yang has resigned from the board of directors and all of his other positions with the internet giants.
The 43-year-old, who jointly started the company in 1995, had recently been criticised by shareholders who claimed he was impeding efforts to revive the struggling firm.
A statement released by the company said he had also stepped from the boards of Yahoo Japan (Xetra: 916008 - news) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
His departure comes two weeks after Yahoo appointed Scott Thompson as its new chief executive.
Yang had been under fire over his handling of affairs dating back to an aborted sale to Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - news) . Shares of Yahoo gained 3.4% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
Analysts say Yang's exit might speed discussions around a multibillion-dollar deal to sell some Yahoo's prize assets - its 40% slice of China's Alibaba and its investment in Yahoo Japan.
Macquarie analyst Ben Schacter said: "Everyone is going to assume this means a deal is more likely with the Asia counterparts.
"The perception among shareholders was Jerry was more focused on trying to rebuild Yahoo, than on necessarily on maximising near-term shareholder value.
"It certainly seems things are coming to a head as far as realising the value of these assets."
In a letter to Yahoo's chairman of the board, Yang said he was leaving Yahoo to pursue "other interests outside of Yahoo" and was "enthusiastic" about Thompson as the choice to run the company.
While respected in the industry as one of the founding figures, then-chief executive Yang was criticised by investors in 2008 when he rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from Microsoft Corp worth about $44bn (£29bn).
Its (Euronext: ALITS.NX - news) share price was subsequently hit by the global financial crisis and its current market value stands at around $20bn (£13bn).
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