Activist Jeff Smith: Yahoo Could Fetch '$10 Billion-Plus' For Its Internet Assets If A Buyer 'Cared Enough For It'

Jeff Smith is an activist investor and CEO of Staboard Value. His firm also holds a major stake in Yahoo! Inc. YHOO and has already declared an activist battle against the firm. Speaking to CNBC, Smith said that a major grievance against Yahoo was the fact that the company has an established record of "saying they would do things over the last several years and they didn't follow through." Specifically, Smith highlighted Yahoo's pledge to monetize Yahoo Japan while simultaneously exploring the spin of its Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA holdings. "That didn't happen," the activist investor added. Yahoo also said it would look to monetize its real estate assets and intellectual properties. "Just because they are going through a process right now doesn't mean they will necessarily follow through," he continued. "It's our job, as owners, to represent the best interest of other owners." Smith continued that he wants "the best result for shareholders" in any outcome of its internet asset sales. Afterall, Yahoo's internet properties are "sought after assets with one of the most recognized brands in the world, a billion unique users, unbelievable properties." He added, that a buyer could in theory pay "$10 billion-plus" for Yahoo's internet assets "if they cared enough for it." However, Smith remains more focused on the bigger picture and that is the tax inefficiencies related to a potential spin of Alibaba. "Everyone is talking about what they will sell the core business for," Smith concluded. "But you have to think of the whole.