Yahoo! saga deepens: annual meeting postponed!

Stephen Withers
Monday, 26 May 2008 10:29

IT Industry - Strategy

Yahoo! has also indicated that certain other nominees for board positions have not complied with the company's bylaws and their nominations may be declared defective at the annual meeting.

In related news, Edward Kozel has resigned from the Yahoo! board. He told the company that he had intended to quit in February, but changed his mind when Microsoft launched its unsolicited bid. By way of explanation, Kozel referred to "personal matters, including relocating his family to Europe this summer."

At least one commentator is predicting further resignations from the Yahoo! board as directors. Rob Enderle of Enderle Group told MarketWatch "Were I a board member, and wanted to maintain my reputation, I'd seriously be thinking of giving my seat to someone else," he said.

"I'll bet several of the members are becoming concerned about the result of what is likely to be a very divisive future whether we are talking stockholder litigation or proxy battle," he added.

Following Kozel's resignation, the size of the Yahoo! board has been reduced to nine. This means five directors rather than six form a majority, potentially making it easier for Icahn and his associates to gain control over the board. But that only works if shareholders choose to vote independently rather than following the slates put up by each side.