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Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has elected to move ahead with plans to run a dissident board slate at Yahoo
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Shiho Fukada / AP Carl Icahn |
Big investors in Yahoo have publicly chastised Yahoo for failing to seal a buyout deal with Microsoft [MSFT
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Shares of Yahoo rose more than 2 percent after the bell on Wednesday after word of Icahn's decision. The shares closed [YHOO
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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.




