Yahoo made an amendment to its executive contracts to ensure payouts should it sell parts of its business, ahead of the deadline for bidders early next week.

The move comes as it suggested SoftBank was looking at its options, potentially providing a challenge for Verizon – the US operator has been seen as one of the front-runners. Microsoft is also believed to be looking on from the sidelines, with up to 40 players mulling bids.

The company has modified its “Change in Control” provisions, in order to “clarify that a sale of all or substantially all of the company’s operating businesses would constitute a change of control for purposes of the plans”.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the move relates to “Yahoo’s unusual structure”. A significant portion of its value comes from stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan, meaning that a sale of its core web business might not have been enough to trigger a “Change of Control” provision under the former definition.

While a number of companies are believed to be circling, not all are looking at the same assets, meaning there are a number of possible outcomes from transactions.

Dan Marcec, a spokesman for compensation tracker Equilar, told the paper that such provisions are in place to ensure executives make decisions that are in the best interest of the company, rather than for their personal gain.