San Francisco - Yahoo will hold its decisive shareholder vote on the board takeover by billionaire investor Carl Icahn at its annual general meeting to be held on August 1, the company announced Tuesday. Icahn is trying to oust the board for rejecting Microsoft's 47.5 billion dollar takeover offer early last month. He is proposing a rival slate of board members that would try to restart takeover negotiations with the software giant.
Icahn on Tuesday said he would also press for company founder Jerry Yang to step down if he is successful in gaining control of the company.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Icahn said newly unsealed court documents show that Yang and Yahoo's board had not seriously considered the acquisition offer from Microsoft and had imposed a costly employee retention plan to effectively sabotage a deal.
"It's no longer a mystery to me why Microsoft's offer isn't around," he said. "How can Yahoo keep saying they are willing to negotiate and sell the company on the one hand, while at the same time they are completely sabotaging the process without telling anyone?"
"In my opinion, you might have to get rid of Jerry and part of the board to bring back Microsoft," Icahn told the New York Times.
Yahoo rejected Icahn's attack. "Yahoo's board of directors, including Jerry Yang, has been crystal clear that it would consider any proposal by Microsoft that was in the best interests of its shareholders," the company said in a statement. "Mr Icahn's assertions ignore this clear factual record."
