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According to a Press Release today Cyberplex Inc. (TSX:CX),  subsidiary, Tsavo Media  will have to repay  Yahoo! approximately $4.8 million over a reasonable time period” for sending low quality traffic to Yahoo advertisers.

“Yahoo! is retroactively charging Tsavo for what Yahoo! is now saying was actually low quality traffic, ranging back over many months during 2011.”

“While the Company and Yahoo! remain in discussions on this issue, the Company now expects that Yahoo! will enforce its decision to charge back this amount citing its right to do so pursuant to the terms of Tsavo Media’s agreement with Yahoo!.”

“Cyberplex also announced today that its President, Ted Hastings, has provided his resignation.”

According to TechCrunch.com, Tsavo Media  operates a network of roughly 300 websites and blogs which generated the traffic.

“‘The company’s network of Internet publications includes crappy websites like LumaGardening.com, ThinkFashion, TechSerious, WealthyGeek, Twirlit, DiscoverFame and KidGlue.”"…

Kristen Moore, VP of corporate communications for Demand confirmed the report of paidContent, who said most of their duties will be passing on to Michael Blend, EVP of Media & Marketplace for the company, after a transition period of a couple of weeks.

PaidContent.org also listed the 8-K filed for Fitzgibbon that detailed his departure terms.

Although all three owned stoc  in the company, Mr. Fitzgibbon is the only one who owned enough to tigger the 8-K:

“”In connection with his resignation, Mr. Fitzgibbon entered into an Executive Separation Agreement and General Release with the Company dated as of January 27, 2012. The Separation Agreement provides that Mr. Fitzgibbon will receive the following benefits in connection with his separation from the Company: (1) accrued but unpaid base salary through the date of separation, (2) his accrued bonus at 100% of target for 2011, in an amount equal to $125,000, (3) twelve (12) months of continued COBRA coverage and expense reimbursement under the Company’s Executive Medical Reimbursement Plan, (4) acceleration of 21,750 of his currently unvested restricted stock units and (5) one year to exercise vested but unexercised stock options outstanding as of the date of separation.”"

According to Moore the fact that the three departed at the same time was “just coincidence.” The departures, she said, had nothing to do with contracts around the company’s IPO—that lock up, in fact, expired in August last year. She added that the three will “pursue separate opportunities and new business ventures” but did not provide further information.

 …

Yahoo Inc. reported its earnings for the 4th Quarter of 2011 after the market closed today and posted a quarterly profit of $296 million, or 24 cents a share, compared with earnings of $312 million, in the same period a year ago.

Net revenue, excluding costs associated with acquiring traffic, came in at $1.17 billion, down 3% from the 4th quarter of 2010 of $1.2 billion.

Still the earnings and revenue where pretty much in line with expectations and shares of Yahoo are trading basically unchanged after hours.

Here is the full report:

Income from operations increased 10 percent to $242 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $220 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

GAAP revenue was $1,324 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, a 13 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2010.

Revenue ex-TAC was $4,381 million for the full year ended December 31, 2011, a 5% decrease from the same period of 2010.

The year over year decrease was primarily due to the revenue share related to the Search Agreement with Microsoft.

Income from operations increased 4 percent to $800 million for the full year ended December 31, 2011, compared to $773 million for the same period of 2010.

GAAP revenue was $4,984 million for the full year ended December 31, 2011, a 21 percent decrease from the same period of 2010, primarily due to the required change in revenue presentation related to the Search Agreement and the associated revenue share with Microsoft.

Net earnings per diluted share was $0.24 in both the fourth quarter of 2011 and the fourth quarter of 2010.

Financials at a Glance

“Yahoo! continued to make progress in the quarter with operating income increasing ten percent year over year,” said Scott Thompson, Yahoo! CEO. “In 2012 we will be aligning resources behind key areas of focus to enable us to move aggressively in market and grow our business, bringing innovative new products and experiences to both our users and advertisers.”

Business Highlights

• Yahoo! is home to 11 number one properties globally and ranks in the top three in 20 categories worldwide. (comScore, December 2011)
• Yahoo!
…

According to a press release today Tucows has repurchased millions of shares of its own stock based on an Oversubscribed tender offer.

Here is the PR:

“Tucows Inc. (NYSE AMEX:TCX), (TSX:TC), aannounced today the preliminary results of its modified “Dutch auction” tender offer, which expired on Friday at 5:00 p.m..

Tucows expects to purchase up to 7,569,952 shares of its Common Stock at a purchase price of $0.77 per share, for a total of $5,828,863.

The 7,569,952 shares expected to be purchased are comprised of the 6,500,000 shares Tucows offered to purchase and 1,069,952 shares to be purchased pursuant to Tucows’ right to purchase up to an additional 2% of the shares outstanding immediately prior to the commencement of the tender offer.  Tucows intends to fund the tender through a combination of available cash and two demand loan revolving facilities Tucows currently has with the Bank of Montreal (“BMO”).

Based on a preliminary count by Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, Inc., 14,265,573 shares were properly tendered at prices at or below the purchase price, making the tender offer oversubscribed by 6,695,621 shares, or approximately 47%. Due to over-subscription, Tucows expects the final proration factor for shares tendered at or below $0.77 per share to be approximately 53%.

For this purpose, shares tendered at or below $0.77 per share will include shares tendered by those persons who indicated, in their letter of transmittal, that they are willing to accept the price determined in the offer. All shares purchased in the tender offer will receive the same price.

The price per share is preliminary and subject to verification by Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, Inc., the depositary for the tender offer. The actual price per share will be announced promptly following completion of the verification process. After the determination of the actual price per share, the depositary will issue payment for the shares accepted under the tender offer and return all shares not accepted.

Directors, executive officers and affiliates of Tucows were eligible to participate in the offer.  Lacuna LLC, a company of which Rawleigh Ralls, a director of Tucows, is a founding partner, has tendered all of its 7.85 million shares in the offer as part of a rebalancing of its portfolio. In addition, Mr. Ralls has tendered an additional 300,000 shares that he holds directly.

Tucows commenced the tender offer on December 20, 2011, when it offered to purchase up to 6,500,000 shares of its Common Stock at a price within the range of $0.73 to $0.77 per share, net to the seller in cash, without interest.…

Google reported its earnings for the 4th quarter of 2011 after the market closed today and missed its expected results.

The stock is trading down $60 a share after hours or almost 10% after reporting.

Revenue in the three months ended in December rose 25% to $8.13 billion, yielding EPS of $9.50.

Analysts had been $8.43 billion and $10.51 per share in profit.

Google ended the quarter with over $44 Billion in the bank.

Here is the earnings report:

Q4 Financial Summary

Google reported revenues of $10.58 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 25% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.”

“Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting traffic acquisition costs (TAC). In the fourth quarter of 2011, TAC totaled $2.45 billion, or 24% of advertising revenues.”

GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $3.51 billion, or 33% of revenues. This compares to GAAP operating income of $2.98 billion, or 35% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $4.04 billion, or 38% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $3.38 billion, or 40% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2010.

GAAP net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $2.71 billion, compared to $2.54 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $3.13 billion, compared to $2.85 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010.

GAAP EPS in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $8.22 on 329 million diluted shares outstanding, compared to $7.81 in the fourth quarter of 2010 on 326 million diluted shares outstanding. Non-GAAP EPS in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $9.50, compared to $8.75 in the fourth quarter of 2010.\

Non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating margin exclude the expenses related to stock-based compensation (SBC). Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS exclude the expenses related to SBC and the related tax benefits. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the charge related to SBC was $536 million, compared to $396 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. The tax benefit related to SBC was $114 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and $89 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to GAAP operating income, operating margin, net income, and EPS are included at the end of this release.…

Jerry Yang one of the co-founders of Yahoo has resigned from its board of directors and the share of Yahoo are up 3.5% in after hours trading

Here is the press release:

“”Yahoo! Inc., the premier digital media company, today announced that Jerry Yang has resigned from its Board of Directors and all other positions with the company, effective today. In addition, Yang resigned from the Boards of Yahoo Japan Corporation and Alibaba Group Holding Limited, effective today.

In a letter to the Yahoo! Board Chairman Roy Bostock, Yang wrote:

“My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo! As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future.”

Yang co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1995 with David Filo and served as a member of the Board of Directors since March 1995 and as Chief Executive Officer from June 2007 to January 2009. The Company went public in 1996.

“Jerry Yang is a visionary and a pioneer, who has contributed enormously to Yahoo! during his many years of service,” said Roy Bostock, Chairman of the Yahoo! Board. “It has been a pleasure to work with Jerry. His unique strategic insights have been invaluable. He has always remained focused on the best interests of Yahoo!’s stakeholders, including shareholders, employees and more than 700 million users. And while I and the entire Board respect his decision, we will miss his remarkable perspective, vision and wise counsel. On behalf of the Board, we thank Jerry and wish him all the very best in his future endeavors.”

Bostock concluded, “We appreciate Jerry’s comments and share his enthusiasm for the company’s prospects. With Scott Thompson leading an outstanding team of Yahoos to deliver innovative products and an engaging customer experience, Yahoo!’s future is bright.”

“I am grateful for the warm welcome and support Jerry provided me during my early days here,” said Scott Thompson, Yahoo!’s Chief Executive Officer. “Jerry leaves behind a legacy of innovation and customer focus for this iconic brand, having shaped our culture by fostering a spirit of innovation that began 17 years ago and continues to grow even stronger today. Jerry has great confidence in the future of Yahoo!, and I share his confidence in the enormous potential of Yahoo! in the days ahead.”

FriendFinder Networks Inc., (FFN) which went public in 2011 at $10 a share, has received a notice of non-compliance from NASDAQ that could lead to its delisting from the stock exchange

The company in a SEC filing said:

“On January 10, 2012, the Company received a notice of non-compliance from Nasdaq stating that the minimum bid price of its common stock had fallen below $1.00 per share for the last 30 consecutive business days.”

“Nasdaq Rule 5450(a)(1) requires a $1.00 minimum bid for continued listing of an issuer’s common stock.

“In accordance with Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company has until July 9, 2012, one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days from January 10, 2012, to regain compliance,” the announcement continued.

“The Company can regain compliance with the minimum bid price rule if the bid price of its common stock closes at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days during the 180 calendar day period.”

If the company is able to regain compliance, the threat of delisting will be lifted. However, if it does not, become compliant by July 9, 2012, “the Nasdaq staff will provide the Company written notification that its securities are subject to delisting, unless the Company otherwise qualifies for an extension of time.”

FriendFinder Network closed yesterday at $.86 a share.

It has a 52 week low of $.51

Today Yahoo announced that PayPal President Scott Thompson is its new CEO and will start on Monday.

In hiring Thompson Yahoo gets someone who has never ran an online media company or an online advertising company or really anything that Yahoo does (see below for his work history)

“Scott brings to Yahoo a proven record of building on a solid foundation of existing assets and resources to reignite innovation and drive growth, precisely the formula we need at Yahoo,” said Chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement today.

“”Yahoo has a rich history and a solid foundation to build on, and its continued user engagement is one of the many reasons for my enthusiasm. With the ultimate goal of delivering the value our shareholders expect, my immediate focus will be on getting to know the entire team and hearing more from all Yahoos, working closely with the engineers and product teams, and diving deeply into our products and services to learn more about what our more than 700 million users find most engaging and useful. I will also be working directly with our region leaders and sales teams globally to get a clearer understanding of the needs of our advertisers and publishers. Clearly, speed is important but we will attack both the opportunity ahead and the competitive challenges with an appropriate balance of urgency and thoughtfulness.”"

“Thompson “will work closely with the Board as we continue the strategic review process to identify the best approaches for the company and its shareholders. As part of this process, Yahoo is considering a wide range of opportunities for the company’s business, as well as specific investments or dispositions of assets,” Bostock said.

Before working at PayPal, Thompson was the executive vice president who ran technology development at Visa’s Inovant subsidiary, which handled technology matters for the credit card company. Prior to that, he was chief information officer of Barclays Global Investors.

So it appears that Thompson has never worked for a company in a management position that is in the online content, advertising or media business or anything to what Yahoo does.

Shares of Yahoo are down 2.5% on the news

Two public companies in the domain space are in the news today

PCWorld.com put out a story entitled “The 10 Dumbest Tech Moves Of 2011“.

The story starts out:

“”I like to look back with a Grinch-like smile at the dumbest moves made during the past year in the world of tech.”

“As always, the competition in 2011 was intense. Here are 10 companies that deserve a big lump of coal in their stockings.”

In placing Demand Media in its top 10 story, the author says:

“”The purveyor of craptastic websites couldn’t make the poorly paid minions at its Demand Studios content farm happy, so it did the next best thing: sued them to stop them from complaining.”

“So far, DemandStudiosSucks.com is still standing, and Demand is still sucking. But Arianna must be happy — DM makes her Huffington Post look like the New York Times.”

On a completely different note, shares of Marchex hit an intraday trading 52 week low of $5.53 today before recovering to close at $5.67.

Its 52 week high is $10.87.

At today’s close Marchex has a market cap of just $212 Million.

The gaming company Zynga is going public tomorrow on the NASDAQ, after pricing its initial public offering tonight on top of its initially announced range of $8.50 to $10 per share.

The $10 price means Zynga will have a valuation of roughly $7 billion.

Zynga is the operator of many games including Farmville, Cityville,  CastleVille has been and a buyer of domains

It will be interesting to see how the stock does tomorrow.