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June 6, 2008, 1:40 pm

Icahn to Yahoo: Make Microsoft an offer

By Yi-Wyn Yen

The Carl Icahn-Roy Bostock slap down continues.

The activist investor and Yahoo chairman exchanged their second round of harshly-worded statements this week.

Icahn offered his views on how Bostock should handle negotiations with Microsoft (MSFT) in a letter he made public to the Wall Street Journal Friday. Icahn suggested that Bostock (YHOO) offer to sell Yahoo at $34.375 a share to Microsoft, get rid of Jerry Yang as CEO, and replace its severance plan for an “acceptable alternative.”

Yahoo fired back that Icahn should leave business strategies to Yahoo’s management. “He has no credible plan to operate Yahoo!,” the company said in a statement Friday. “His suggestion that we put out a price publicly to see if Microsoft will alter its stated position is ill-advised.”

Icahn is planning a proxy battle to remove Yahoo’s board of directors when the company holds its annual shareholder meeting on Aug. 1. If Yahoo does not reach a deal with Microsoft by then, expect more tit for tat.

I believe I’m talking in behalf of all the website owners out there.
We do not need 1 major player in the search field.

Monopoly where only google has total control of the internet, will turn the internet into one big ad-space.

If we want the internet to stay free, then there has to be at least 2 powerful search engines around.
Thanks

Posted By M Aksoy, Stockholm, Sweden : June 13, 2008 1:04 pm

You have to understand something about Yahoo’s management. I was a CEO in the valley so I know a little bit about this mentality.

Jerry Yang believes he and Yahoo are the center of the universe. He is living largely in the past when VC capital flowed freely. He was a rock star back in the day. He has been coddled and praised like a god in the Valley since he and Filo were backed by Moritz and the Sequoia gang.

Now, no longer does Yahoo! deserve the hype. The numbers are not there and the trendlines are all bad.

Unfortunately, Google and countless others have passed him by and he really can not keep up. Now, the worst of all enemies is going to take him out. MSFT and, or all people, a dinosaur like Icahn.

Its a matter of time. Yang’s in over his head. Therefore, he should go.

Posted By J Carson, SF, CA : June 7, 2008 8:21 am

“Yahoo fired back that Icahn should leave business strategies to Yahoo’s management.”

Yahoo has already proved incompetent at that. I’m an advertiser with Yahoo, and the way they do business is appalling. Ask any YSM advertiser; a buy-out (from anybody) would be a blessing.

Posted By Ben : June 7, 2008 3:05 am

Carl Icahn ignored to tell the Yahoo to wait till he finish buying more shares first before selling to Microsoft.

Posted By Joe Chen, San Jose, CA : June 6, 2008 10:49 pm

Please let Yahoo! do their own business.

Posted By Plaza.net, Beverly Hills, CA : June 6, 2008 10:39 pm

Carl, is that how you make money by manipulating others?

Posted By Joe, Atlanta, GA : June 6, 2008 10:32 pm

Once a company sells itself in the market, it is in the public domain. The men and women who created the company gave up their full control of the company. The initial owners wanted money from the public by selling shares of the company and there are consequences to this. That’s a fact. Bottom line: If you don’t want to give up control of the company, don’t sell your company in the market. You want to be your own boss, then keep the company private.

Posted By John, Los Angeles, CA : June 6, 2008 8:08 pm

Ican is a rader. Yahoo makes a good profet. Yahoo should get out of wall street and go private,Ican and wall street will distroy Yahoo,They will break them up into little peices and reap the spoiles just like war. If Yang looses I will pull out of Yahoo, never to use them again. It’s horrable that the hole deal colasped over paying employies severance,Thats showes you what wall street is like, They want 100% of the money none for the employies.

Posted By SARGE, COLLINSVILLE, OKLAHOMA : June 6, 2008 8:05 pm

By the time Yang puts his emotions aside and considers shareholder value, yahoo won’t be worth $24.375 let alone $34.375.

Every day that goes by without a merger makes both Yahoo and Microsoft less valuable in the Internet search and ad game. Microsoft can definitely afford to loose here.

Posted By Doug Kirschman from Allentown, PA : June 6, 2008 3:49 pm

I think Mr. Icahn needs to go jump off a really tall building. The government needs to step in a prevent individuals from manipulating the stock of a target company for there benefit. Mr. Icahn attempts in breaking up the company I work for worked but has produced 2 significantly weaker and less profitable companies. Thanks again for nothing.

Posted By Frank, Austin TX : June 6, 2008 3:20 pm

“Meeting Shareholders Expectations” sounds very nice. But hey v all know its all about Money. Which makes me wonder whether likes of Icahn care at all about the Creativity, Smartness & Intelligensia of the Developers @ Yahoo (or say MSFT)…I mean if few guys are out there to change the world..can v please let them do so??

Gosh…Icahn leaves outsiders with a very BAD impression of What America is.

Chinmayz

Posted By Chinmayz, Detroit, IL : June 6, 2008 3:03 pm

Totally in agreement with Icahn! We should get rid of Yang since he is proven unable to revive Yahoo! and he has no interest in the stockholders of Yahoo!

Posted By Mydad, Cerritos, CA : June 6, 2008 2:30 pm
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