Yahoo AGM turns into slanging match

Angry shareholders voice dismay at failed Microsoft deal

4 August 2008 12:54 GMT / By Katie Scott

Carl Icahn, rebel shareholder and vocal billionaire, may have been placated, but Yahoo still faced dissent at its much-anticipated AGM on 1 August.

Angry investors turned up Yahoo's board in the meeting voicing their anger at how the two takeover bids from Microsoft were handled.

"I think you have overpaid in terms of executive compensation, overplayed your hand with Microsoft and overstayed your welcome on the board", said Eric Jackson, a fund manager with Ironfire Capital in Tampa, Florida, and holder of 250 Yahoo shares.

Another investor said he wanted to know how much time Yahoo directors spent doing their jobs to earn their pay.

"I'd like to see timesheets posted on the Internet for the work of the directors as well as the executives of the company", said Dirk Neyhart, a retired stockbroker from Berkeley, California, who said he holds less than 1000 shares of Yahoo.

Bostock retorted: "It's been about 26 hours in the course of a 24-hour day".

Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock argued that Yahoo had "called the shots" in negotations that have been rumbling on for months.

He added that Yahoo's directors had always been open to deal with Yahoo and said that he, personally, did not understand why the deal brokering had finally broken down.

"There was never a compelling offer put on the table", Bostock said at the shareholder meeting at a hotel in San Jose, California. "That never occurred in this process."

But Microsoft has immediately hit out saying that "Yahoo is attempting to rewrite history yet again".

Back at the meeting, Jerry Yang, CEO and co-founder of Yahoo stepped up to face shareholders and told them that his company is confident of the future.

He said that Yahoo expects 335 million additional internet users to come online worldwide by 2010, for a total potential audience of 1.56 billion.

As a result of the meeting, Carl Icahn has now gained three seats on Yahoo's board.

However there are rumours that one of his candidates has dropped out.

Former AOL Chief Executive Jonathan Miller has been told by his previous employer that he cannot join the Yahoo board until March 2009.

A Time Warner spokesman told Reuters: "When Jon Miller signed his contract, it said that upon payout of the contract he could not work for a variety of competitors including Yahoo until March 2009".