July annual meeting postponed by Yahoo!

23rd May 2008

A meeting of Yahoo! shareholders planned for July 3rd has been postponed, it has emerged.

The company has not specified a date for the rescheduled annual meeting, but it is thought the firm wants more time to prepare a defence against Carl Icahn, the activist investor preparing a proxy challenge to Yahoo!'s board.

Microsoft earlier this year put forward a $47.5 billion (£24.2 billion) bid for the search pioneer, but the deal fell through when price negotiations failed to reach a conclusion.

Shareholders have claimed that Yahoo! betrayed its duty to investors in refusing the software giant's offer and Mr Icahn, who has a history of involvement in corporate battles, has nominated a slate of alternative directors to replace Yahoo!'s current board.

Claudia Allen, a Chicago lawyer who specialises in corporate governance issues, told the Associated Press: "It could be that they are exploring some other potential transactions, with the most likely one being some sort of deal with Microsoft that satisfies Mr. Icahn."

Meanwhile, Microsoft revealed this week it was in talks with Yahoo! about an alternative deal that would stop short of a total takeover.