Ex-Yahoo CEO Semel exercised $37.8 mln in options

SAN FRANCISCO, April 29 (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) former chief executive Terry Semel exercised Yahoo stock options valued at $37.8 million in 2007, the company said in an amended annual report filing on Tuesday.

Semel, who resigned as chief executive of Yahoo last June in the face of shareholder criticism of the company's performance for the past several years, exercised options for 2.47 million shares, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The former Hollywood studio chief took over as CEO early this decade and helped rebuild Yahoo in the wake of the dot-com downturn. But the company has failed to keep pace with former- partner-turned-rival Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in recent years.

Semel remained as chairman of Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo until he resigned on Jan. 30, 2008 -- the same day the company's board of directors received an unsolicited $31 per share cash-and-stock bid from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Other departed executives to exercise stock options in 2007 included former Chief Technology Officer Farzad Nazem, with options valued at $15.7 million on exercise, and former Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig, who exercised options valued at $6 million, the filing said.

Rosensweig resigned, effective March 31, 2007.

Nazem resigned from the company on June 8, 2007. He also received a lump sum payment of $280,127 to cover his base salary for the rest of 2007. (Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)