there's a saying that translates roughly to "you bad-mouthing things you want to buy".
Based on your second sentence, I don't think you mean the word 'mismanaged' here. That would imply those inside the company are intentionally trying to lower its value.
I think what you mean is, potential buyers are bad-mouthing the company, or deliberately talking down it's value in public to try to get a better deal.
Edit: It occurred to me, this could have been a substitution error of 'mismanaged,' for 'misrepresented.'
I wouldn't immediately throw that possibility out the window.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/07/technology/marissa-mayer-sev...
If getting the deal done is the only objective, exaggerating the direness of the situation might help shareholders get on board for a deal, perhaps out of fear. It also makes a lower price more palatable.
Of course, I have no details of what is actually going on, so what I've written could just be rampant speculation.
The real issue is when a star is put in charge who cannot fail yet does and no one is willing to call them out on it till its too late.
Yes. This site is one of the worst I encounter when it comes to ensuring the PC path is taken regarding sexism. It's odd that a group of, predominantly, males feels the need to make so much effort to say, "I'm not sexist!" or "You're a sexist!"
Go back and read any of the old threads regarding Mrs. Mayer's hiring. They're a hoot.
2016 Google bids for purchase of Yahoo.
Your explanation is the most likely. Seems pretty obvious.
Remember when Mrs. Meyer was named CEO and HN vehemently argued that she was going to turn the place around? And anyone who said otherwise was accused of being sexist?
Here's a doozy from back then:
"every once in a while I wonder whether she's so much smarter than me that I just can't comprehend her strategy."
Now the narrative is that she mismanaged it intentionally? Should she be thrown in jail for ripping off shareholders then, like this place calls for the heads of banking CEOs?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_popular_websites
Sorry for being snarky, but seriously, not knowing that Yahoo is a top 5 destination is embarrassing if you work in the web business.
Among other things they have the best map data and the largest auction site.
> While some are scared by the numbers, everyone I spoke to plans to make a bid of some sort, largely because even as financially precarious as it has become, Yahoo remains one of the biggest properties on the Web and it is hard to be able to buy that kind scale easily.
> “It’s like a dilapidated house in Silicon Valley — you walk in and are overwhelmed by the work that needs to be done and how bad it has gotten,” said one potential buyer. “But then it’s in a good neighborhood, the market is nuts and there’s not many like it anymore, so you have to hope you can fix it.”