Why did Scott Thompson Really Leave Yahoo?

Confusion seems to be reigning supreme regarding Scott Thompson's decision to resign from his position of CEO at Yahoo!

over the weekend. Naturally, many people are bringing up the scandal that threatened to flood the news cycles last week regarding Thompson's (let's call it an) untruth about a computer science Bachelor's degree. However, those same people will be left feeling terribly guilty if it turns out that Thompson does, in fact, have thyroid cancer and it is this condition which basically forced him to leave his position. It was revealed on Sunday afternoon that

, with Ross Levinsohn, the head of global media, stepping in an interim CEO.

, effective immediately. Goldman Sachs issued a report on Monday, stating that it believes the company will choose an internal candidate, such as interim CEO Levinsohn, to permanently take the job. "Mr. Thompson had made early organizational changes, including a significant round of lay-offs, to focus the company on commerce and data. However, whether the incoming CEO would continue to follow this strategy, or implement a different strategic direction, is an open question. Should Mr. Levinson assume the CEO role permanently, we believe he may choose to focus on content and advertising." What cannot be denied is the fact that Thompson was already under considerable pressure to resign following the revelation that his resume / biography included a degree that he doesn't have. However, the fact that he reportedly has thyroid cancer has changed the story considerably. What we do know is that three other people have joined the board, all nominees made by Yahoo!'s largest outside investor, Third Point. That company's boos, Daniel Loeb, will see this as a victory, after Yahoo! said on May 2 that he did "not bring the relevant skill set and experience” to join Yahoo's board. However, if Thompson does indeed have cancer, then Loeb might be eating a little slice of humble pie. Loeb controls a 5.8% stake in YHOO and he has been working hard to get four seats on the boards, though he wouldn't have wanted it to happen like this. The new board will begin work immediately, trying to sell part of the company's 40% stake in China's Alibaba Group. That deal could generate billions of dollars. That would ease some of the pressure that has been building since Yahoo chose not to sell itself to Microsoft

back in 2008 for $33 per share, or $47.5 billion. It hasn't traded above $20 since September of that year. Friday saw Yahoo! close the week at $15.19 per share, so it now has a market value of $18.6 billion.