More Videos
- Lenovo buying back mobile phone business
- Google documents Iraqi museum treasures
- EU drops Qualcomm antitrust probe
- Barnes & Noble reports 2Q loss, cuts guidance
- Nokia to ax 220 R&D jobs in Japan
- Fox CEO wants US to join France on Internet piracy
- Newspaper circulation may be worse than it looks
- B&N Nook sells out, too late for holiday orders
MOST SHARED
- No Thanksgiving Rest for Retailers in Sales Race
- Finding the Holiday's Best Buys
- Banks Play Down Dubai Exposure, Investors Still Wary
- More Asia Executives Resigned to Economy Flights: Survey
- UK's Darling to Downgrade 2009 Growth Forecast
- Attraction of Switzerland to Businesses
- San Miguel Sells $1.36 Billion Stake to Ally
- Dubai's Debt Woes Signal New Era for Creditors
- US Dollar Rises Against Most Currencies—Except Yen
- Shoppers Hit Black Friday Sales, Budgets Pared
- Fantasy Christmas Gifts 2009
- EA Sports Hopes to Pump Up Sales Through Pop-Up Locations
- Cheap Robotic Hamsters Are Holiday's Unlikely Craze
- Car Insurance Scofflaws Raise Health Reform Doubt
- Steepest Black Friday Discounts, Revealed
- Tommy Hilfiger's Estate in Conn. Sells for $20 Million
Text Size 
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has elected to move ahead with plans to run a dissident board slate at Yahoo
 |
Shiho Fukada / AP Carl Icahn |
Big investors in Yahoo have publicly chastised Yahoo for failing to seal a buyout deal with Microsoft [MSFT
Loading...
()
]
Shares of Yahoo rose more than 2 percent after the bell on Wednesday after word of Icahn's decision. The shares closed [YHOO
Loading...
()
] at $27.14 on Nasdaq.
Ryan Jacob, portfolio manager of the Jacob Internet Fund, which holds around 150,000 Yahoo shares, said Icahn will probably prevail in his effort to win board seats.
"There's a reasonable chance that Icahn can be successful," said Jacob. "There's a lot of shareholder unhappiness right now, including ours. It's encouraging because there's the chance that they can be more successful in consummating a transaction with Microsoft."
It was unclear if Icahn plans to run a full slate of ten new directors at Yahoo, or a "short slate," for a non-control position. The details have yet to be worked out, sources said.
One industry expert said he would likely have a better chance with a short slate, since it is unlikely that investors would allow a complete takeover of the board and the attendant uncertainty that such a move would have at Yahoo.
"It's handing the company over to an entirely different team," said Bruce Goldfarb, partner in Okapi Partners, a proxy advisory firm. "While a dissident slate would obviously have a mandate to sell the company, investors just don't give up control without a premium. If Microsoft was on board, he'd have a chance."
The move on Yahoo is the latest of a number of proxy battles that Icahn has recently waged. Last month, Motorola settled a proxy battle with Icahn by agreeing to add two of Icahn's four nominees to its board.
Representatives of Yahoo and Microsoft declined to comment.
Print
Email
- Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC and Power Lunch for a year. Here's a message from Bill.
- Social enterprises are becoming a new asset class for the ethically-minded.
- With Americans cutting back on spending, holiday tipping will take another hit this year.
- More shoppers than ever plan to comparison-shop this season. Who will benefit?
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
- Some of the nation's top bartenders offer suggestions on what to serve at holiday celebrations this year.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes