Corporate Law
It’s Official: Carl Icahn Will Lead Yahoo Proxy Fight Seeking Microsoft Deal
Posted May 14, 2008, 04:45 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Updated: Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has definitely decided to lead a proxy fight for control of the Yahoo Inc. board, according to news reports, and some observers are predicting that he could win his campaign.
The campaign is of particular interest to mergers and acquisition lawyers in a slow deal season, since Icahn's goal is to get the Internet giant back to the negotiating table with Microsoft Corp., which recently sought a merger but was rejected. Icahn, who has reportedly acquired some 50 million Yahoo shares, can expect support from a number of investors, Ryan Jacob, a Jacob Internet Fund portfolio manager tells Reuters.
"There's a reasonable chance that Icahn can be successful," says Jacob, whose fund holds 150,000 shares of Yahoo. "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."
Additional coverage:
Wall Street Journal (sub. req.): "Icahn Will Launch Proxy Contest To Unseat Yahoo's Entire Board"
TheStreet.com: "'Fast Money' Recap: Yahoo! Stays in Play"
ABAJournal.com (May 13): "Good News for Deal Lawyers: Carl Icahn Mulls Yahoo Proxy Fight"
Updated at 6:50 p.m. to include Wall Street Journal coverage.