Report: Icahn Will File Yahoo Proxy Board Slate
Posted May 14, 2008 05:24pm EDT by Aaron Task

Carl Icahn is going to move forward with a full proxy slate to replace Yahoo’s board of directors, Reuters reports.

“Icahn, who has amassed a large stake in the Internet company, has lined up at least 12 potential board candidates,” Reuters reports.

The deadline for Icahn (or anyone else) to submit a proxy slate is Thursday, so if the famed corporate raider is going to make a move, we’ll know very shortly.

As Henry and I discussed this morning, a key question is whether big Yahoo shareholders Gordon Crawford and Bill Miller will support Icahn. Then again, he might not care and Yahoo’s board might end up wishing they’d dealt with the devil they know (i.e., Ballmer) when all is said and done.

Icahn did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Update: The obvious question: Is Microsoft supporting Icahn, either overtly or covertly? We’ll know more if/when Icahn announces his proxy slate; if some of the same folks set to be on Microsoft’s since-disbanded slate are on Icahn’s, then it’s fair to say Redmond had a hand in this.

Knowing Microsoft is ready to take a chance again would certainly help, but I don’t think it’s the only thing on Icahn’s mind. He’s an opportunist – and I don’t mean that in a negative way. It could be he believes new management could do more to extract value from Tech Ticker’s parent, whether Microsoft has truly “moved on” or not.

Assuming Icahn does move forward, Capital Re’s Crawford and Legg Mason’s Miller are key to any effort to oust (or merely influence) Yahoo’s board because, combined, they represent ownership of about 23% of Yahoo shares.

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