Shareholder demands recount following Yahoo! AGM
One of Yahoo!’s largest shareholders, Capital Research Global, has demanded a recount of the number of votes cast against the re-elected chief executive Jerry Yang. The Yahoo! board and Yang were re-elected at the company’s AGM on August 1.
However, it has emerged that US research investment group, Capital Research Global, want a clarification of the number of shareholders who voted against Yang. Some investors are angry at Yang for snubbing Microsoft’s $48bn (£24bn) offer for Yahoo!
But despite friction with some shareholders Yang received 85% of the votes cast at the AGM last Friday.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who had launched an attack on the Yahoo! board for not taking up Microsoft’s offer, is one of the shareholders understood to be unhappy with Yang at the helm.
Despite this he has struck a deal to be elected to the Yahoo! board. Icahn has prviously had talks with Microsoft over an attempt to oust the Yahoo! board.
The deal Yahoo! brokered with Carl Icahn means that the board will now be expanded from 9 to 11 members. The remaining two seats will be filled by recommendations sent by Icahn to the board’s nominating and governance committee.
His nominees include Jonathan Miller, a partner at Velocity Interactive Group and former chief executive and chairman of AOL. These seats will be filled by August 15.
