The Inquisitr » icahn

Plea to Yahoo: Shut Up and Sell Yourself Already

JR — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:39:03 +0000

We interrupt our programming for a brief editorial…

Am I the only one who dreads waking up each day to see what silly new banter, war cry, or promise has been put forward in the neverending saga of Yahoo’s downward spiral?

The latest news today, in case you’re the one person who hasn’t heard it, is that Yahoo and Carl Icahn have “settled” their ongoing battle — agreeing to leave most of Yahoo’s existing board on the ballot for re-election, create one new additional board spot for Icahn, and create another two new additional board spots for people from Icahn’s suggested list.

While one might hope this will mean we won’t have to hear anything more about this nonsense for a while, it probably doesn’t. There’ll be plenty more maneuvers as Icahn now dukes it out with Yang and the other Yahoos from the inside, instead of from his previous position as simple shareholder. Will Microsoft or won’t they? Are talks back on or aren’t they? Will the company split up its assets? Will Brenda ever get back together with Dylan? Ah, the endless questions…

So here’s my proposal: No more public PR battles, no more using the media as puppets to spread carefully crafted messages (think about every piddly little letter each side has sent back and forth — is it anything more?). For the love of all things sacred, sell the friggin’ company and shut up already.

Granted, today’s announcement was one of the more significant in the big picture of everything we’ve heard over the past months — but following the sea of insignificant noise coming from all sides of this story, I for one am oversaturated and simply can’t sop up any more of the Yahoo water. It would be surprisingly refreshing if we could go without hearing another single yelp about Yahoo until there’s actually an acquisition. I think I can safely say, at the very least, that you won’t see much more about the soap opera drama on this site until there is a legitimate development — such as a sale. Consider the puppet strings cut.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming…

Plea to Yahoo: Shut Up and Sell Yourself Already is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yahoo Talks to Time Warner; Microsoft Meets with Icahn

JR — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:35:20 +0000

Yahoo’s starting up direct talks with Time Warner, while Microsoft is meeting with Carl Icahn to plan for the future.

Yahoo spent time with Time Warner over the holiday weekend, according to London’s Times Online. The paper reports Yahoo’s board is struggling to seal some kind of deal before its August 1 shareholders’ meeting — which, of course, could result in a new board being elected.

The Time Warner talks are focusing on an AOL merger, which is said to be worth as much as $10 billion. Just last week, news broke that Microsoft was trying to work with Time Warner on a joint purchase deal, so Yahoo may be trying to get a step ahead, so to speak.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is now saying it’ll wait till after the Yahoo shareholders’ meeting to move forward with its next proposal — a strategy suggested by none other than Carl Icahn. Both he and Microsoft seem confident a new board could be in place then and a new deal could be struck.

Here’s Microsoft’s official statement on the matter:

In the past week we have had the opportunity to discuss with Carl Icahn the prospects for a possible agreement between Microsoft and Yahoo!.

Despite working since January 31 of this year, as well as in the early part of last year, we have never been able to reach an agreement in a timely way on acceptable terms with the current management and Board of Directors at Yahoo!. We have concluded that we cannot reach an agreement with them. We confirm, however, that after the shareholder election Microsoft would be interested in discussing with a new board a major transaction with Yahoo!, such as either a transaction to purchase the “Search” function with large financial guarantees or, in the alternative, purchasing the whole company.

As Mr. Icahn notes in his statement today, it would be premature to discuss at this time important details such as the price or other terms of a possible transaction. We respect the right of Yahoo!’s shareholders to determine the destiny of their company, and we do not intend to engage in ongoing commentary on these issues in advance of Yahoo!’s shareholder meeting.

As we explained on June 12 when Yahoo! announced an agreement with Google, we believe that our proposed search acquisition and partnership would have delivered superior value to Yahoo!’s shareholders and the marketplace as a whole. We have not changed our position, even as we continue to move forward with our own online search and advertising offerings. We therefore welcome interest by Mr. Icahn in pursuing this and other discussions.

While of course there can be no assurance of a future transaction, we will be prepared to enter into discussions immediately after Yahoo!’s shareholder meeting if a new board is elected.

Icahn has also written a lengthy letter of his own:

Dear Yahoo! Shareholders:

During the past week I have spoken frequently with Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. Several of our conversations have lasted as long as an hour. Also, a few of our discussions have taken place while other top executives, such as Kevin Johnson, participated. Our talks centered on the industry in general but, more importantly, on how Yahoo! and Microsoft can do a transaction together. Steve made it abundantly clear that, due to his experiences with Yahoo! during the past several months, he cannot negotiate any transaction with the current board. His logic is simple. If and when a transaction was consummated, Microsoft would be guaranteeing a great deal of capital at closing. However, a transaction could take at least nine months and perhaps longer to obtain regulatory clearance in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. During that period, if the current board and management team of Yahoo! mismanage the company (and their recent track record is far from reassuring), Microsoft would be putting its money at risk and a great deal could be lost.

For example, in a transaction to purchase the whole company, a very large amount of capital would be due at closing. Even in an “alternate” transaction, where just the “Search” assets were purchased, large guarantees would have to be made and, again, large sums could be lost if the company was mismanaged. Microsoft perceives this risk may be quite high with the current board and management in place. However, Steve made it clear to me that if a new board were elected, he would be interested in discussing a major transaction with Yahoo!, such as either a transaction to purchase the “Search” function with large financial guarantees or, in the alternative, purchasing the whole company. He stated that Microsoft would be willing to enter into discussion immediately if the new board that has been nominated were elected. While there can be no assurance of a future transaction, as many of you know, I have negotiated successfully a large number of transactions over the past years. If and when elected, I strongly believe that in very short order the new board would, subject to its fiduciary duties, be presenting to shareholders either a purchase offer for the whole company or a very attractive offer to purchase “Search” with large guarantees. I hope to continue to be speaking to Steve over the next few weeks; however, since I do not as yet represent the Yahoo! board, both Steve and I do not wish to get into details over price, or even which of these transactions makes the most sense.

Much has been said about how badly the Yahoo! board has “botched up” negotiations with Microsoft over the past months. There is no need to keep pointing out the mistakes I believe Yahoo! made by not immediately taking a $33 offer made by Microsoft. But one thing is clear — Jerry Yang and the current board of Yahoo! will not be able to “botch up” a negotiation with Microsoft again, simply because they will not have the opportunity.

Our company is now moving toward a precipice. It is currently losing market share in its “Search” function; our current Board has failed to bring in a talented and experienced CEO to replace Jerry Yang and return Jerry to his role as Chief Yahoo!, and currently it is witnessing a meaningful exodus of talent. It is no secret that Google (which hired a great operator as CEO) continues to dramatically outperform Yahoo!. According to publicly available information, Google’s income from operations grew 59% per year over the last two years while Yahoo!’s shrank 21% per year. However, none of the above has caused the Yahoo! board to hesitate in paying themselves $10,000 per week. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE.

If elected, I have little doubt that the new board, subject to its fiduciary duties, will do what the current board will not do, i.e.,

– Immediately start negotiation with Microsoft to sell the whole company or, in the alternative, sell “Search” with large guarantees.

– Move expeditiously to replace Jerry Yang with a new CEO with operating
experience.

Sincerely yours,

CARL C. ICAHN

Yahoo Talks to Time Warner; Microsoft Meets with Icahn is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yahoo’s Yang In The Line Of Fire

JR — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:25:00 +0000

Yahoo investor Carl Icahn is now directly targeting CEO Jerry Yang in his battle to replace the company’s leadership.

Icahn tells the Wall Street Journal he’d want Yang out if he won the right to remove the board of directors.

“It’s no longer a mystery to me why Microsoft’s offer isn’t around,” he told the paper. “How can Yahoo keep saying they’re willing to negotiate and sell the company on the one hand, while at the same time they’re completely sabotaging the process without telling anyone?”

The Journal says Yahoo’s board is scheduled to meet later today.

Meanwhile this week, new details are being released about Yang’s actions during the Microsoft negotiations. The documents, unsealed by a Delaware judge, show that Yang tried to implement an employee severance plan that would have upped the price tag considerably for Microsoft. The Associated Press says an outside consultant “questioned the plan’s generous benefits,” and now others are questioning whether the move was meant to discourage Microsoft from increasing its offer. Yahoo, not surprisingly, did not want these documents to be released.

Yahoo’s Yang In The Line Of Fire is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yahoo and Shareholders Duke It Out

JR — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:33:15 +0000

The gloves are coming off in the battle between Yahoo and its upset shareholders.

The two sides held a private phone conference with a judge today. They were discussing a lawsuit over how Yahoo’s board handled the Microsoft takeover talks earlier this month.

The shareholders claim the board is trying to keep “embarrassing documents” out of the public eye, according to the Associated Press. They say those documents include employee severance plans put into place after the Microsoft talks began.

Billionaire Shareholder Carl Icahn is calling for the company’s directors to be replaced at its annual meeting in July.

A ruling on the lawsuit isn’t expected to be made until next week at the earliest.

Yahoo and Shareholders Duke It Out is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yahoo Lashes Out At Call For Change

JR — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:38:45 +0000

Yahoo is firing back at the billionaire investor who called for its board of directors to be removed.

Carl Icahn sent a letter to Yahoo executives yesterday saying the board “acted irrationally and lost the faith of its shareholders” during its broken down takeover talks with Microsoft. Icahn went on to nominate 10 of his own replacements for the leaders.

Today, Yahoo questioned Icahn’s understanding about the failed Microsoft deal and insisted its board is the “best and most qualified group” to helm the organization. You can read the entire letter below.

Yahoo’s response to Icahn – Upload a doc

Yahoo Lashes Out At Call For Change is a post from: The Inquisitr

Investor Calls For Yahoo Board Removal

JR — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:35:11 +0000

A billionaire investor and activist is now fighting to remove Yahoo’s board of directors and reignite its talks with Microsoft.

Carl Icahn officially submitted notice of his request to the company today. He says he owns 59 million shares of Yahoo and believes the company’s board “acted irrationally and lost the faith of shareholders” during its failed talks with Microsoft.

Icahn listed 10 people he would like to see replace Yahoo’s leadership, including former Viacom CEO Frank Biondi and NBA team owner and former Broadcast.com head honcho Mark Cuban.

Icahn is among many who believe Yahoo’s CEO, Jerry Yang, demanded too much money when talking about a possible takeover with Microsoft. Microsoft withdrew its $47.5 billion offer two weeks ago.

The entire text of Icahn’s letter follows.

Icahn’s Letter to Yahoo – Upload a doc

Investor Calls For Yahoo Board Removal is a post from: The Inquisitr