According to a report in the Wall Street Journal Carl Icahn says he wants wants to get rid of Jerry Yang as Yahoo’s CEO for botching the Microsoft (MSFT) bid.
Icahn believes Yahoo’s board will have to be fired to lure Microsoft back to the bargaining table.
Icahn asserted in a Tuesday interview with The Wall Street Journal that Microsoft is unlikely to renew its courtship as long as Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang and the company’s eight other directors remain on the job.
Icahn is putting more pressure on Yahoo in an effort to force a union with Microsoft. “It’s no longer a mystery to me why Microsoft’s offer isn’t around,” Icahn told the Journal. “How can Yahoo keep saying they’re willing to negotiate and sell the company on the one hand, while at the same time they’re completely sabotaging the process without telling anyone.”
Court documents in a lawsuit filed by by two Michigan pension funds that were unsealed Monday accused Yang of trying to sabotage the Microsoft deal.
The complaint stated that Yang convinced the Yahoo board to adopt a poison pill that would make a Microsoft takeover extremely difficult. According to the court documents, Yang adopted a plan that would allow all employees to leave Yahoo and receive a generous severance package if the company was bought.
The Journal also reported that Yahoo’s board is scheduled to meet Tuesday.
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