Just When I Thought I Was Out, Icahn Pulls Me Back In …
by John Paczkowski
Posted on May 13, 2008 at 3:37 PM PT
Carl Icahn and Yahoo. Could it be any more perfect? Icahn specializes in shaking up companies suffering from critical failures in oversight and leadership. Yahoo (YHOO) is the very definition of that. So it’s no surprise to hear that the billionaire investor has amassed roughly 50 million Yahoo shares in anticipation of a proxy fight to nominate new directors at the company’s annual meeting this summer.
If there’s anyone that can strong-arm Yahoo back into merger negotiations, it’s Icahn. He has forced a number of companies to face unpleasant realities that they would have otherwise preferred to avoid. That said, the unpleasant reality in this particular case is no longer on the table. But it may not yet have walked so far away that it can’t be dragged back to it.
Said S&P Internet analyst Scott Kessler: “If I were an activist, the first call I’d make would be to Microsoft (MSFT) and make sure that offer of $33 would still be available.” Best make that call soon too. The deadline for nominating new Yahoo directors is Thursday.
If Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang thought Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was scary, meet persnickety investor Carl Icahn.
According to CNBC, which was doubtlessly leaked the threat by the clever billionaire to test the waters, he has bought as much as 50 million shares in the troubled Internet company as part of a potential proxy fight.
