Icahn Uses Corporate Influence to Launch Proxy Battle Against Yahoo

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- In an effort to unseat Yahoo! Inc’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) Board of Directors and revive the failed deal with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), billionaire investor Carl Icahn moved to officially launch a proxy fight.

Icahn also submitted a letter to Yahoo’s Chairman, Roy Bostock, indicating that the board’s actions in rejecting Microsoft’s offer was irrational and not in the best interests of Yahoo’s shareholders (see article from The Wall Street Journal) . In addition to himself, Icahn nominated nine other Directors to replace Yahoo’s current Board.

Yahoo likely relaxed after initially rejecting Microsoft’s advances and cooling the takeover pressure, though now that activist investor Icahn has taken a strong interest in the deal, the company’s Board of Directors is facing an uphill battle. As illustrated in the Knowledge Map, Icahn is clearly well connected and has the means to be very influential, thanks to his high stakes in numerous corporate entities.

No stranger to taking on major companies, Icahn’s latest victory in a proxy fight with Motorola had NewsVisual predicting that bigger battles would soon follow (see NewsVisual article).

If history repeats itself and Icahn is successful in his latest move, Microsoft may soon get the deal with Yahoo that it was originally after.

To view the other companies that Mr Icahn has a stake in, click here for the full and interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).