Jerry Yang on The Huffington Post

Penny Herscher: The Rise in CEO Turnover Is a Sign of the Times -- Both Good and Bad

2009-01-17T11:38:55Z

In the first 9 months of 2008 the number of CEOs who left their jobs hit a record high according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc -- 1,132 by October and when the 2008 full year tally is completed the total will be higher than ever before.

What is going on behind these numbers is two forces of change, both of which should improve the caliber of leadership and cause boards to act.

First the economic crisis makes CEOs more vulnerable. Their companies and markets are in crisis, in most cases their stocks are significantly down and they are under pressure from shareholders and employees to improve performance. And when a CEO leaves he usually "resigns" - which is a euphemism for a difficult conversation in which both the board and the CEO agree it would be best for the CEO to step down.

More visibility than that is exceptional - like when the Cadence Design Systems CEO Mike Fister and his top 4 executives all "resigned" on the same day - you know they were summarily fired and there is a cleanup job to be done there - or when Dianne Greene left VMWare openly stating she did not agree. Or when the CEO has clearly been recruited into a new job. But usually it's a civilized, mutual agreement.

In tough times good boards are looking at whether they have the right CEO. The skills needed to grow a company in a rising market are often different skills than operating and preserving a large company in a down market. And in down markets leadership and character is more important than ever.

The second change at work is the unprecedented levels of transparency shareholders now have. This transparency comes from the combination of new executive compensation reporting requirements and the openness of information flow on the web. In 2006 board compensation committees were first required to file a Compensation Discussion and Analysis report - the CD&A - at the beginning of the year describing every single element of compensation the top executives are receiving and the rationale behind it. This means that finally shareholders can see everything, and so have the knowledge to question boards in the shareholder meetings. Carol Bartz's new compensation package at Yahoo is an example of a CEO's pay lining up with shareholder interests and it's all publically filed.

I am hoping that with a spirit of change in Washington, a tough economic environment and the unprecedented level of visibility the CD&A, the web and bloggers provide into what's really happening in a company - that more boards will ask the hard questions about whether they have the right CEO or not. Let's not have a repeat of leaving Jerry Yang in as CEO of Yahoo for 18 months too long, and let's have the GM board hold Rick Wagoner accountable to turn GM around or get out. After all, the most impactful thing a board does is hire and fire the CEO.

Tech Billionaires Losing Tons In Financial Crisis

2008-12-16T08:42:02Z

The tech industry has been brimming with billionaires over the last decade, especially since the birth of Web 2.0. But these are dark times, and the richest of the rich are certainly feeling it.

Don't feel too sorry for them, obviously (They're still billionaires.) But they've lost a lot more than you have.

Welcome to The Biggest Losers: Tech Edition. It's a quick summary of how much we estimate your favorite moguls have lost, ranked from least to first. Advance the slides using the 'Next' button in upper right corner of each slide.

Susan Mernit: Yahoo Layoffs: Cutting by the Numbers, and Not Making the Same Mistakes Again

2008-12-08T15:06:25Z

Kara Swisher's sharing that this Wednesday is the date for the next round of Yahoo! layoffs. She's predicting 1,500 to 2,000 jobs vaporized, adding lots more out of work in the Bay area, NYC and Santa Monica.

While there's something morbid about companies that do lavish holiday parties and then sever staff, it's more distressing to read that Yahoo's plan is to eliminate whole projects and move divisions between managers.

As some one who was laid off from Yahoo! 10 months ago, reading this new makes me want to scream, loudly, something along the lines of "Senior managers at Yahoo!, you who have options vested and big salary cushions, when are you going to quit playing hot potato passing groups back and forth, funding and then starving projects every three-six months, and create a coherent strategy that might make a difference?"

Another thing that worries me is that, even with all the executive departures of the past year--the Microsofties who came, drove people out and left, the VPs and SVPs who went on to other roles (at Microsoft, venture funds and wherever) enough of the top management remains to suggest that this layoff, like the last big one, is going to be executed by people who don't have a clue how to manage human capital.

Last go round, as whole departments and projects were cut, some of the most skilled staffers in areas like interactive design, product management and program management were let go. In other words, you could be top talent on a project, but if that project was cut, honey, you were toast.

Why would this go-round be any different?

Since Yahoo! is cutting by the numbers, we have to assume they're going to let some of the strongest people go again, perhaps to try to (quietly) later rehire, as also happened last time. So think about it--when those self-satisfied announcements go out, about the "deep cuts and the bright future that lies ahead", those left without jobs in a deepening recession right before Christmas will have the comfort of knowing they weren't let go because they were the bottom 10%, they were let go because their managers fail to convince their bosses that those projects were ones that mattered. (And since the big bosses didn't know most of those people, great talent was let go, while deadwood remained (and remained.)

Is it going to be like that this time (again)? Or it is going to be different? Wanna place some bets?

Layoffs are always tough, and yes, sometimes you have to slash to the bone.

But I'm hoping that this time Yahoo! is (finally) able to apply some smarts in the human capital area. Maybe this time the huge upheavals and chaos this reduction in force will create actually leaves the best and brightest--not the most plodding and dutiful--on staff at Big Purple.

Either way, I feel for everyone losing their jobs.

New Yahoo CEO Before 2009, Says Chairman

2008-12-04T08:16:49Z

Yahoo (YHOO) chairman Roy Bostock says the company will have a new CEO before the end of the year, sources tell Kara Swisher. Perhaps someone should remind Roy that's only four weeks away and that he better get cracking.

A good first step, which Kara says hasn't happened yet, would be organizing a search committee to find this company savior. So far it's just Roy and fellow board member Gary Wilson going over names headhunter firm Heidrick & Struggles comes up with.

Kara says Roy and Gary have come up with six criteria for the incoming CEO, however:

Blodget Would Bet His Company On A Yahoo Turnaround

2008-11-21T11:54:42Z

Here's the plan:

* Yahoo will acquire our parent company, Silicon Alley Media, for stock. We already own some YHOO, and we're willing to put more money where our mouth is: Specifically, we're willing to bet our entire company on our YHOO turnaround plan.
* Yahoo will appoint us as acting CEO. No worries: We will not become yet another fat CEO pig at the trough. In fact, we're so excited about this opportunity that we'll do it for Jerry's salary: $1 a year (okay, maybe we could add some zeroes, to preserve our marriage. But not six. Or, god forbid, eight). We also have no ambition to hold this post indefinitely. Several folks in the business world are more qualified to run a global Fortune 500 company than we are, and when the time is right, we will gladly hand the reins to one of them. Unlike many incoming Yahoo CEO candidates, however, we know what Yahoo needs right now, and there's no sense wasting time CEO-hunting when we can start the process today.
* We will immediately resize the company, cutting approximately one-quarter to one-third of the cost base. Even now, with its bloated cost structure, Yahoo is still making money. Our cuts will ensure that Yahoo is positioned to survive a major online ad downturn and still have plenty of cash flow to reinvest in the business. One big reduction instead of several small ones will also ensure that Yahoo doesn't go down the road it is heading down now, which is the demoralizing death by a thousand cuts.

Why Yahoo Won't Find A Good New CEO

2008-11-19T08:08:14Z

The ouster of Jerry Yang as CEO of Yahoo has been a long time in the making, and now the search is on for a replacement. Silicon Alley Insider compiled a long list of possible new Yahoo CEOs, but the New York Times points out that Yahoo's new world won't necessarily be defined by whoever ends up with the job:

Mr. Yang, a Yahoo co-founder, said on Monday that he would give up the chief executive role once a successor is named and revert to being "chief Yahoo," the strategy position he held before his 18 turbulent months running the company.

But even before its new boss is selected, Yahoo has an even more fundamental decision to make, say analysts and other Internet watchers. Does it want to remain an independent company, trying to expand in a range of businesses while it combats Google in the crucial arena of Web search? Or should it finally listen to the devotees of deal-making and sell some or all of itself to another Internet player, most likely Microsoft?

24/7 Wall Street says that the combination of those situations -- the need for a new CEO and the long desire of many shareholders to sell the company -- mean that the new Yahoo CEO won't necessarily be a particularly talented person:

According to Reuters, "To impress shareholders, Yahoo Inc's next chief executive needs just one qualification: the willingness to do a deal with Microsoft Corp."

What does that mean? First, no one who really wants to turn Yahoo! around will take the job. The leaves out presumed front-runner Peter Chernin, COO of News Corp (NWS). He is not going to leave Rupert Murdoch for a few weeks on the West Coast.

The other by-product of the Yahoo! boards plans is that even a modestly skilled candidate can take the job. All that person needs to do it make sure that they get $20 million or $30 million if the company is sold. And, they need to vote "yes" on a sale.

Shelly Palmer: Jerry Yang Will Resign From Yahoo: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer November 18, 2008

2008-11-18T09:51:46Z

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang announced that he will resign from his position. The search engine founder, who has had a controversial run as CEO, will continue to hold the Chief position until a suitable replacement is found. Investors have been after Yang's head for turning down a Microsoft deal for $33/share. (Yahoo's stock at $10.63.) With Yang out there is alot of speculation as to the future of potential deals with AOL and even Microsoft. While Yang should have been ousted months ago, his recent failure to secure a search ads deal with Google may have been the final straw.

Mark Cuban, head of HDNet and the Dallas Maverick's, has been indicted on insider trading violations. The SEC claims Cuban sold stock in Mamma.com based on information not available to the public on a stock offering. The indictment claims that Cuban avoided losing $750,000 by selling his stock prior to the sale. Cuban, an active blogger, noted the charges on his blog "BlogMaverick.com", saying "I wish I could say more, but I will have to leave it to this, and let the judicial process do its job."

President-elect Barack Obama helped 60 Minutes score its highest overnight ratings in almost a decade. Obama's interview with Steve Kroft drew approximately 24.5 million viewers Sunday night. The show had more viewers than any prime-time show shown this season and the biggest audience for 60 Minutes since 1999.

Hollywood is getting ready for the summer of 2009 by releasing the full length trailers to two hotly anticipated films; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Star Trek. Warner Brothers is hoping that the final installment of the Harry Potter series, scheduled for release in July, will be a Dark Knight-esque summer blockbuster. The JJ Abrams directed Star Trek is scheduled to premier in May.

Plus, today's consulting question, "Is it true that MLB.TV is walking away from Silverlight and going back to Flash?" Shelly has the answer on today's MediaBytes.

Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net

Yahoo! To Replace Founder Jerry Yang As CEO

2008-11-17T20:33:16Z

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo Inc. co-founder Jerry Yang is stepping down as chief executive, ending a rocky reign marked by his refusal to sell the Internet company to Microsoft Corp. for $47.5 billion _ more than triple Yahoo's current market value.

The change in command announced Monday won't be completed until Yahoo finds his replacement. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said it is interviewing candidates inside and outside Yahoo in a search led by its chairman, Roy Bostock, and the executive recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles.

Shelly Palmer: Microsoft Still Not Interested in Acquiring Yahoo: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer November 7, 2008

2008-11-07T10:19:39Z

Steve Ballmer noted that Microsoft is not interested in acquiring Yahoo. Ballmer is quoted as saying "We made an offer, we made another offer.. We moved on." However, Ballmer did not rule out the possibility of a potential search ads deal.

Microsoft is trying to sign a mobile search and advertising deal with Verizon. Currently, Verizon is in talks with Google, however, Microsoft is offering Verizon a more generous revenue sharing plan and a higher guarantee. Microsoft sees a mobile search and ad deal with Verizon as a way to significantly increase its reach for mobile search.

Craigslist has reached a deal with 40 state attorneys to curb its "erotic services" listings. Craigslist, which is notorious for catering to sex-oriented businesses, now makes erotic service advertisers provide a phone number, which is called by an automate service for verification. The Internet classifieds site will also charge a small fee of between $5-10 for all erotic services ads.

Samsung has overtaken Motorola as the leading vendor of handsets in the U.S.. Samsung owns a 22.4% share of the market, compared with Motorola's 21.1% and LG's 20.5%. Samsung has increased sales by offering high end touch-screen phones, as well as lower-end phones given free to consumers who sign up for a new plan.

All My Children star, and notorious Emmy nominee (and one time winner), Susan Lucci was voted off ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Despite Lucci's "doble paso" being a hit with judges, Lucci and partner, Tony Dovolani, did not make the final five contestants.

Plus, today's consulting question, "What is white space?" Shelly has the answer on today's MediaBytes.

Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net

Ballmer Nixes Yahoo Deal Revival: "We've Moved On"

2008-11-07T09:44:23Z

Steve Ballmer dismisses the idea of a Yahoo acquisition...but leaves open the possibility of a search partnership:

"We made an offer, we made another offer ... We moved on," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told a business luncheon in Sydney on Friday when asked for the firm's plans after a partnership between Yahoo and Google Inc fell through this week.

Shelly Palmer: 71.5 Million Americans Tune In For Election Coverage: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer November 6, 2008

2008-11-06T09:36:36Z

Analysts estimate that nearly 71.5 million viewers tuned in to watch election coverage Tuesday night. ABC bested NBC as the most watched broadcast network, while cable coverage was up 50% in household prime-time ratings from four years ago.

Google has abandoned its proposed search ads deal with Yahoo. Google walked away after the Department of Justice told both parties it would sue them to block the agreement. Yahoo's stock was up on the news, while board member Carl Icahn continues to push for a sale to Microsoft.

Sprint will bring NFL games to mobile devices. The mobile broadcast deal, valued around $500 million for five years, gives Sprint the right to phone-cast 8 exclusive NFL Network games a year. The big question is whether or not Sprint will be able to sell more than $500 million in phone plans.

Michael Crichton, author and creator of the hit television drama ER, passed away yesterday. Crichton, who was battling cancer, is best known for Jurassic Park. NBC CEO Jeff Zucker noted that Crichton "was a modern day Rennaissance man...who helped change the face of televised drama."

Plus, today's consulting question, "Who will be Obama's chief of technology?" Shelly has the answer on today's MediaBytes.

Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net

Shelly Palmer: Google, Yahoo Revise Search Deal: MediaBytes With Shelly Palmer

2008-11-04T09:31:23Z

Google and Yahoo will narrow the focus of their search ads deal in order to win approval from the Department of Justice. The revised plans have a two-year limit on the deal, which was expected to last ten, while revenue Yahoo can earn from Google ads place next to search queries has been capped at 25%. Under the original deal, Yahoo could have used as many Google ads on their search page as it wanted.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin canceled a vote on whether or not to revamp the system in which phone companies pay each other to transfer calls. After Martin canceled the vote, four commissioners criticized his decision. Analysts believe the proposed plan would have meant millions of dollars in increased revenue for large communications companies and would have seriously damaged small to midsize carriers.

Viacom earnings barely beat expectations for the third quarter but net income was down 37% compared with last years 3Q, which included profits from the megahit Transformers. CEO Phillipe Dauman noted that the media conglomerate was feeling the effects of weak ad budgets from the auto, beverage and gaming industries.

Brightcove is getting rid of its free, ad supported hosting service. The company is also shutting down its Brightcove.Tv site, which acts as a gallery for videos. Brightcove, which makes 99% of its money from corporate subscription clients like WSJ and HBO, said free, ad supported hosting didn't generate enough revenue to keep the service going.

Plus, today's consulting question, "What is P4P and does it work?" Shelly has the answer on today's MediaBytes.

Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net

Five Reasons To Buy Yahoo Stock

2008-10-23T17:37:53Z

1. Eventually, management will get tossed.

Starting with the least scientific or analytical reason for owning Yahoo, there's every reason to believe the days are numbered for CEO Jerry Yang and President Susan Decker. By all accounts fine people, they simply haven't led Yahoo well.

The former excelled as Chief Yahoo, dabbling in deals and motivating the troops. But Yang hasn't been a decision leader and is "lurching from crisis to crisis," as The New York Times aptly phrased his tenure. Decker, in turn, is widely derided in Silicon Valley as too much the finance chief, not enough the operations guru.

Yahoo Layoff Memo Full Text

2008-10-21T18:25:07Z

Yahoo is going to fire at least 10 percent of its global workforce by year-end, CEO Jerry Yang told employees in a company wide memo today (1400+).

Unfortunately, "affected employees" won't know for "several weeks."

"We understand that hearing this news now creates uncertainty," says Jerry, "but we are moving ahead in a way that balances speed with a clear focus on accomplishing what is necessary to set the organization up for long term success."

The whole memo:

Shelly Palmer: Sarah Palin Makes SNL Debut

2008-10-20T09:13:49Z

If you are having trouble viewing our video player, check out MediaBytes on YouTube.

After weeks of speculation, Sarah Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live. The Alaskan Governor and Vice Presidential nominee helped SNL take home a 10.7 rating/24 share, a nearly 161% improvement over the shows October average from 2007. SNL also received its highest overnight rating since 1994, when Nancy Kerrigan hosted. The Palin clips are already a huge hit online, thanks to NBC using HULU and NBC.com to syndicate Palin's opening skit and Weekend Update rap before the West Coast version of the show went live.

NBC head Jeff Zucker announced that the Peacock will slash next years budget by $500 million. Zucker blamed the economy for the 3% cut, while analysts believe pressure from parent-company GE may have also been strong. The budget cuts come as NBC prepares for an uncertain time in Ad spending, with locals getting rocked and major advertisers cutting their budgets.

Yahoo is expected to announce another round of layoffs this week. The layoffs have been looming since Yahoo brought in Bain & Co to help restructure, and many believe Yahoo will layoff somewhere between 1,000-3,000 employees. Yahoo is also expected to cut its operating budget by 15%.

John McCain helped Late Night with David Letterman earn its best ratings since 2003. The night of McCain's appearance Letterman took in 6.53 million viewers, posting a 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic, the best since Oprah appeared in 2005.

Plus, today's consulting question, "What's going on with the SAG negotiations?" Shelly has the answer on today's MediaBytes.

Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy(r) Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net

CEOs At Risk: 10 Chiefs On The Chopping Block

2008-08-07T08:28:47Z

Making ends meet isn't getting any easier. The misery index - the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates - is at a 15-year high, with no relief in sight. Throw in falling house prices, as the PNC household stress index does, and Americans are feeling as strapped as they have since the 1990 recession.

Top executives are generally well insulated from those problems by their multimillion-dollar paychecks, lavish perks and somnolent boards of directors. But don't think for a minute that 2008 has been easy for the CEO set. Ask Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide, Pat Russo of Alcatel-Lucent and Martin Sullivan of AIG, all of whom have been shoved aside as investors tired of their multibillion-dollar missteps.

Yahoo Recount Shows Large Protest: Yang's Approval At 66, Not 85 Percent

2008-08-06T08:08:58Z

Yahoo (YHOO) on Tuesday disclosed that CEO Jerry Yang and other directors were re-elected last week to its board with far fewer votes than previously thought.

On Tuesday, Yahoo said it learned that Broadridge Financial Services, a proxy accounting firm that handles submitting votes for major shareholders, forgot to include millions of votes in its tally. Five of Yahoo's nine incumbents received a much lower margin of approval after votes from Yahoo's largest institutional shareholders, Capital World Investors and Capital Research Global Investors, were belatedly added.

Capital Group on Monday had asked Broadridge re-examine the votes. Broadridge subsequently found it had failed to include 200 million votes from the Capital Group that were withheld for Roy Bostock, Ron Burkle and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, and 100 million votes withheld for Arthur Kern and Gary Wilson. Instead of an 85.4% shareholder approval, Yang actually received 66% of votes, and Yahoo chairman Bostock had 60% as opposed to 79.5% that was originally reported Friday. Yahoo's nine directors were running uncontested.

In a statement, Yahoo blamed Broadridge's mistake on a "truncation error" that resulted when share numbers exceeded eight digits.

Read the full story here

-OR-

Read about the most vocal dissenter -- who didn't bother to show up to the board meeting:

::On Carl Icahn's Settlement -- And New Responsibilities -- With Yahoo

Yahoo Shareholder Capital Research Global Investors Wants A Recount

2008-08-05T08:03:08Z

SAN FRANCISCO -- Capital Research Global Investors, one of Yahoo's largest shareholders, has asked for a re-examination of Yahoo's shareholder vote at last Friday's annual meeting, the investment group's parent company said Monday.

The request for re-examination suggests that the votes actually withheld for certain Yahoo directors, including the chief executive, Jerry Yang, may have been higher than reported.

Gordon Crawford, an influential portfolio manager for Capital Research, which owns about 6.2 percent of Yahoo's shares, has been sharply critical of Yahoo's board and management, and was believed to have advised funds under his control to withhold votes from certain Yahoo directors.

Read the full story here

-OR-

If you're Jerry Yang, just click back into the recent past to remember that nice, clean feeling you had when you were telling everybody there was overwhelming shareholder support for the board.

Yahoo Annual Board Meeting: Mixed Reviews

2008-08-01T18:39:14Z

So, after a tumultuous year, how did the Yahoo annual board meeting go?

Depends on who you ask. If you ask Carl Icahn, he probably thought the day went great -- he didn't attend, and instead spent some time thinking about the money he's making on ImClone, the stock made famous by Martha Stewart. You ask Jerry Yang and he'd probably say it went fine -- since he didn't step down today, as some speculated he might.

Ask the Internet, though, and you get pretty varied response:

From CNET:

"I like Jerry, but I think a new CEO is needed," said Eric Jackson of Ironfire Capital, which controls 3.2 million Yahoo shares, in an interview after the two-hour meeting here wound down. And that's not all--he also wants to see board members Bostock, Eric Hippeau, Arthur Kern, and Ron Burkle step down. And he wants to see Yahoo cut jobs and exit some businesses.

From Reuters:

Yahoo Inc's (YHOO.O) board of directors received strong backing from shareholders at its annual meeting on Friday, with embattled Chief Executive Jerry Yang winning an 85 percent favorable vote.

Read the full story here

Yahoo Board Meeting Should Be Chippy

2008-08-01T08:07:30Z

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Yahoo Inc.'s board emerged largely unscathed from the Internet company's annual meeting Friday as a subdued crowd of shareholders raised few questions about the directors' rejection of Microsoft Corp.'s $47.5 billion takeover bid.

Some shareholders expressed displeasure by opposing the re-election of Yahoo's current directors, but the resistance wasn't as intense as last year, when three directors were rejected by more than 30 percent of the vote.

Icahn On Yahoo's Board Makes Microsoft Deal More Likely (VIDEO)

2008-07-22T07:39:42Z

Now that Yahoo has given in and supplied "shareholder activist" Carl Icahn with three seats on the Yahoo board of directors, Citi analyst Mark Mahaney thinks that Microsoft may have a better chance at completing a deal to buy part of -- or all of -- Yahoo.

WATCH:

Yahoo, Icahn Settle: Carl Gets 3 Seats, Agrees To Shut Up

2008-07-21T07:56:39Z

Here's the official end of the Yahoo-Icahn proxy war: Yahoo will give the corporate raider 3 seats on its board (one for himself, plus two more), and Carl agrees stop fighting. The basics:

* Yahoo will keep 8 of its 9 existing directors; Activision/Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will leave.
* The board gets expanded to 11 seats. Carl gets one, and the board picks two more from a pool that includes his proposed slate, plus former AOL CEO Jon Miller. Which means: Carl, Miller and someone else join the Yahoo board, but won't be able to do anything beyond complaining at meetings.
* Yahoo and Carl explain how all the insults they lobbed back and forth at each other for the past few months, and in particular the past few weeks, were all nothing, really, and everything's going to be great now.

Yahoo Gains Support Of Major Shareholder In Proxy Fight

2008-07-21T07:41:37Z

With its annual meeting looming in just two weeks, Yahoo is ratcheting up its defense against Carl Icahn's proxy fight with an energy critics wish they'd seen for the past few years of Yahoo's gradual decline. The fight for control of Yahoo always looked like a close call amid all the shareholder anger directed at Yahoo's board and cofounder and CEO Jerry Yang as they rejected one Microsoft overture after another. But as I wrote last week, momentum has turned Yahoo's way. Now, amazingly, it looks like Yahoo could actually win this thing.

Today, Yahoo got at least one high-profile backer, one who may be enough to turn the tide: Bill Miller, chairman and chief investment officer of Legg Mason Capital Management, Yahoo's second-largest shareholder. Miller released a statement today in support of Yahoo's current board.

Read the full story here

-OR-

Read what Silicon Alley Insider's Henry Blodget has to say about Yahoo's use of ad space in the fight in his post "Yahoo Management: We're So Scared We're Going To Get Fired That We're Using Our Best Ad Inventory To Fight Carl Icahn"

Yahoo Points Out That Carl Icahn's Record Stinks

2008-07-17T18:55:22Z

Don't know why it took this long, but Jerry Yang and company are finally launching a media blitz, one that we think is doing an effective job of making their case.

One particular talking point they've been hitting over and over: Carl Icahn isn't a "shareholder activist" -- he's a speculator who knows nothing about tech and has no plan to do anything other than flip or carve up Yahoo. Their latest salvo: He's bad at speculating, too.

Here's their argument, laid out in a single page of Yahoo's 34-page (!) presentation released today. By Yahoo's reckoning, Carl has gotten mixed up in 15 public companies since 2004; only three of them have seen their stock move up and stay up since he started buying. Carl, we await your rebuttal.

Yahoo, At Long Last, Will Pay Shareholders To Love It

2008-07-17T08:56:21Z

Useful thought by Team Yahoo: Why trust the WSJ, the NYT CNBC or anybody else when you can just go directly to shareholders? Hence this memo released this morning. We're parsing it now, and at first glance this seems like a more nuanced (and well-argued) version of arguments we've heard before from Yahoo: Carl has no plan, Microsoft hasn't been serious about buying us. Meanwhile:

* We'll sell the company for $33, if someone makes us a real offer, and
* Wel'll sell search, too, if someone makes us a real offer.

Yahoo also says it's willing to spin-off or sell its Asia assets and pay out a dividend to shareholders, both arguments we don't think we've heard before. Why is that important? Because "These are steps Yahoo! could take, if we determine they are feasible and in our stockholders' best interests, without any "help" from Microsoft or Mr. Icahn."