Yang quits as Yahoo head

Yahoo's co-founder and current chief executive officer Jerry Yang has announced that he will be stepping down and returning to the role of Chief Yahoo of the search company.

Yang helped start the company 14 years ago and took on the top job in June 2007 at the board's request. He will remain on the company's board and only make the move once a successor has been appointed.

"When the board asked me to become chief executive officer and lead the transformation of the company, I did so because it was important to re-envision the business for a different era to drive more effective growth," said Yang.

"Having set Yahoo on a new, more open path, the time is right for me to transition the chief executive officer role and our global talent to a new leader."

The news has rekindled speculation that Microsoft make once again possibly snap up the company as it tried to do earlier this year in a bid to tackle rival Google's dominance in the search engine market.

Since the original offer, the company has been besieged by job cuts, plummeting share prices and a failed advertising deal with Google. With Yahoo stocks currently trading at around $10.63, if there is any truth in the rumours it's extremely unlikely that a bid will come anywhere near the $31 a share originally offered by Microsoft.

Chairman Roy Bostock has enlisted the help of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to search both inside and outside Yahoo to find the next person to lead the company.

"Jerry and the Board have had an ongoing dialogue about succession timing, and we all agree that now is the right time to make the transition to a new CEO who can take the company to the next level," said Bostock.