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New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Activist investor Carl Icahn purchased another 6.8 million shares of Yahoo stock last week at a price tag of about $67 million, further boosting his already vast stake in the company to almost 5.5 percent.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that stake is equal to 75.6 million shares in the Internet giant, or about $870 million.
The Corporate Raider has been outspoken about his beliefs that Yahoo should strike a deal with Microsoft Corp. in hopes of better competing with Google. Although no merger talks are currently in the works, some believe Icahn is still pushing for the deal.
Icahn was also vocal about his desire to dump Jerry Yang, saying that the former Yahoo CEO did everything he could to discourage a deal with Microsoft. Yahoo is currently seeking a replacement for Yang after he stepped down on November 17. Yang had previously rejected a $31-a-share offer by Microsoft earlier this year, prompted Icahn and other board members to question his leadership.
After news circulated on Friday that Icahn had increased his stake in the struggling company, Yahoo shares rallied almost 9%, up to $11.51 in the shortened trading session. Icahn may be trying to reverse the massive losses he incurred this year, after shares of Yahoo plummeted almost 60 percent.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
Guardian Unlimited- The struggling internet company Yahoo has struck a pact with its billionaire critic Carl Icahn by giving the hedge fund activist a minority presence on its board to avoid a potentially tempestuous showdown at a shareholder meeting next month.
Facing crumbling support among Yahoo investors, Icahn yesterday abandoned his efforts to overthrow the leadership of the embattled Silicon Valley company and force its sale to Microsoft.
Instead, the 72-year-old Icahn & Co hedge fund manager is settling for an offer of three seats on Yahoo’s board. One director will stand down and the board will expand from nine to 11 members. Wall Street analysts greeted it as a qualified victory for Yahoo’s founder, Jerry Yang, who has pressed hard to maintain its independence and who waged an energetic campaign to discredit Icahn.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Hedge Funder Eric Jackson of Ironfire Capital will call on Yahoo Inc. to accept a board of directors mixed with members both proposed by the company and from a dissident slate backed by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Jackson, who heads the grassroots group Yahoo Plan B, wants five members to come from Yahoo and four to be elected from Icahn’s proposed slate of nine.
"It’s become clear over the last two weeks that many shareholders are reluctant to support the entire list of Icahn nominees," Jackson said in a statement expected to be issued today.
Icahn had launched his proxy battle two months ago when he rationalized that Yahoo head Jerry Yang was not looking out for the shareholders when he rejected Microsoft’s $33 a share bid on the company.
It was then that Icahn proposed his slate of board directors which included himself, Frank Biondi, Robert Shaye and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Icahn proceeded to garner the support of many prominent hedge funds and wealthy shareholders, though some have been reluctant to put all their faith in the corporate raider.
Jackson is hoping the two parties can reach an agreement before the showdown happens at Yahoo’s annual shareholder meeting on August 1st.
The Yahoo Plan B group is a Web-based activist group comprised of 150 small Yahoo shareholders who hold about 3.2 million Yahoo shares. Members of the group vote individually rather than as a group.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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New York (HedgeCo.Net) – After months of on-again off-again talks between Yahoo and Microsoft, the possibility of a merger looks to be back on.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft said they may be interested in restarting talks if the internet giant’s board was replaced, a move that billionaire tycoon Carl Icahn has been striving to achieve.
"If Microsoft and Mr. Ballmer really want to purchase Yahoo, we again invite them to make a proposal immediately," Yahoo said in a recent statement.
Icahn had launched a proxy battle to replace Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and other members of the Yahoo board after they originally rejected Microsoft’s first offer for $47.5 billion. Icahn blamed it on Yang’s personal disdain for Microsoft and said they were not acting in the shareholders best interest. Backed by a few prominent hedge funds who also acquired massive shares in Yahoo, it looked as if Icahn was going to score a victory only to have talks cool shortly thereafter.
While some shareholders are reluctant at how Icahn would manage the company, others are urging him to push for fewer seats on the board. Yahoo’s annual shareholder meeting will be held on August 1st.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Carl Icahn continues his quest to shake up the board of Yahoo, and this time, that includes ousting CEO Jerry Yang. According to the Wall Street Journal, Icahn is channeling shareholder complaints in hopes to fuel his proxy battle and to facilitate the Microsoft deal.
Last month, several Yahoo shareholders filed a complaint against Yang and the board of Yahoo, claiming that they acted in a way to discourage the Microsoft deal and that Yang, who has a personal disdain for the software giant, did everything he could to quell the prospect of a merger. According to the statements, Yahoo had rejected a bid from Microsoft back in January 2007, when CEO Terry Semel said no to a $40/share offer.
The plaintiffs also suggest that Yang, along with co-founder David Filo and other Yahoo executives, not only turned down Microsoft’s bids, but set up a nice exit plan for employees to leave the company should there be a hostile takeover by constructing attractive compensation plans.
"Nobody ever understood the magnitude of what Yahoo did to do avoid making a deal," said Icahn.
Yahoo, who issued a statement last night, said that Yang, along with the board, has been "crystal clear that it would consider any proposal by Microsoft that was in the best interests of its shareholders".
Recently, hedge funds Paulson & Co. and Third Point LLC publically backed Icahn’s push for the Yahoo/Microsoft deal, with the hopes that the deal would help fuel higher returns and help Yahoo better compete against Google. Both hedge funds hold a major stake in Yahoo.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
