Carl Icahn buys bigger chunk of Yahoo

01 Dec 2008 09:27

The activist investor and member of the company's board has bought up seven million shares of Yahoo over the course of three days

Over the course of three days last week, activist investor Carl Icahn bought up nearly seven million shares of Yahoo, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

That brings Icahn's stake in the internet search pioneer to about 75.6 million shares, or 5.5 percent, according to a regulatory filing. Icahn paid an average of $9.92 for each share.

The move comes on the heels of the announcement that chief executive Jerry Yang will step down once a replacement for him is found.

Earlier this year, Icahn launched a proxy fight in a bid to take over Yahoo's board. Among his wishes was that Yang step down. The company and Icahn eventually reached an agreement wherein he gained a seat on the board, and the number of seats was expanded, with Yahoo appointing two new members from Icahn's slate of candidates. Following the agreement, Yang said that he welcomed Icahn's "fresh perspective".

In recent months, Yahoo shares have fallen, along with the rest of the stock market, and have been hovering lately around $10. That's in contrast to earlier this year, when Microsoft offered $33 a share in a sweetened takeover bid for the company.

Shares of Yahoo closed on Friday at $11.51, up 93 cents, or about nine percent. The stock market was open for a shortened session following the US Thanksgiving holiday on 27 November.

On Wednesday, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said at the company's annual shareholder meeting: "We are done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo". He did not discount the idea of a search partnership, however.

Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39568092,00.htm