I&#x27;m not sure why either Starboard or the reporter thinks this is newsworthy.  After you read the background, at the very end of the article you come to this little nugget of obviousity that every reader was waiting for: &quot;Many analysts attribute little or no value to the business ...&quot;  Yeah, exactly.  Yahoo!&#x27;s operating entity is totally and utterly worthless.  No one would buy it.  It&#x27;s not even clear that you could construct a transaction in which Yahoo!&#x27;s current shareholders pay someone to take it off their hands.<p>The sad fact is that for most Yahoo! shareholders, the best deal on offer is going to be giving the US government 35% of the value of those foreign holdings and then selling their stock in what&#x27;s left for $0.  Starboard is just wriggling on the hook and looking for ways to avoid booking the inevitable massive loss on this holding.  The IRS knows this and their private letter ruling denial is just them playing hardball.  It&#x27;s not right or fair, but if the IRS were a business partner, it&#x27;s exactly what you&#x27;d expect.