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Carl Icahn ups his stake in Yahoo

Zac Bissonnette — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:40:00 EST

Filed under: Management, Insiders, Yahoo! (YHOO)

In a move that comes as somewhat of a surprise, Carl Icahn spent the first three days of this week spending $67 million on shares of Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO). He bought 6.8 million shares for an average of $9.92 bringing his total stake to 75.6 million million shares -- roughly 5.5%of the company.

Given that Icahn's nemesis, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is on the way out, Icahn may be positioning himself to have considerable say in the company's choice of successor. Icahn controls three seats on the company's board of directors.

The market value of the company has taken a beating since Icahn got involved. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) had offered to acquire the company for $33 per share. Yang spurned that offer and it was withdrawn in May. The stock now sits right around the $10 mark.

Icahn's decision to up his stake in the company signals some level of long-term confidence now that any kind of major deal with Microsoft seems like a remote possibility. But the question shareholders have to ask is, as valuable as Icahn is on matters of corporate governance, does he really have the expertise that will make him a valuable contributor to the internet company's search for a CEO?

Carl Icahn ups his stake in Yahoo originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jerry Yang fires 10% of workforce in lowercase email

Sarah Gilbert — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:10:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Bad News, Yahoo! (YHOO), Employees

I once worked for an ex-Yahoo! employee, and he conducted most of his business in lower-case. That's not, however, how he laid people off. In an email to the whole company today after Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) reported earnings were down 64%, CEO Jerry Yang announced he would be laying off 10% of the workforce "in the next several weeks." Net income reported was $54 million for the third quarter of 2008, compared to $151 million in the third quarter of 2007, with revenue of $1.325 billion. The company met expectations of nine cents per share.

"we understand that hearing this news now creates uncertainty, but we are moving ahead in a way that balances speed with a clear focus on accomplishing what is necessary to set the organization up for long term success," Yang wrote. At the rate the company has made change over the last few years, I hardly expect brilliant things. Long-term success? Investors would probably settle for "not making pathologically boneheaded mistakes that cost the company 70% of its stock price" at this point.

Jerry Yang fires 10% of workforce in lowercase email originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo! releases correct board vote count; questions remain

Melly Alazraki — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:20:00 EST

Filed under: Management, Yahoo! (YHOO), Scandals

Following the demand of one of Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO)'s largest shareholders, Capital Research Global Investors, to review the vote in last week's re-election of the Internet giant's board, Yahoo! has now released the corrected numbers this afternoon. To recount, Capital Research Global Investors couldn't understand how Jerry Yang received 85.4% supporting votes when the fund's 16% holding was withheld.

Yahoo! acknowledged the error, blaming it on a tabulation error by Broadbridge. The new count shows much more disdain for several members of the board. Specifically, CEO Yang went from 85.4% support to 66.3% in the new count, Roy J. Bostock and Ronald W. Burkle went from 79.5% and 81.2% respectively to 60.4% and 62.1% respectively.

While this doesn't change anything except to show the board doesn't have the same approval from shareholders, it seems there are still some open questions. Barron's Eric Savitz brings concerns from Mithras Capital, an investment firm that owns 1.7 million Yahoo shares, regarding 200 million fewer votes in this year's vote compared to votes in the past two years.

The possible explanation is that the ballots that voted the Icahn slate before his agreement with Yahoo's board were voided and therefore not all shareholders were represented. Mithras Capital then wonders whether some members of the board wouldn't have been re-elected had these votes been counted.

Regardless, after several delays of the meeting as well as a "tabulation error," more questions are left unanswered and this whole vote leaves a really bad taste and lowers -- even further -- shareholders' confidence in Yahoo's board and management.

Yahoo! releases correct board vote count; questions remain originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why would InBev even want Anheuser-Busch's Bud?

Melly Alazraki — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD)

It's no secret that InBev's $46.3 billion bid for Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) was aimed so that it could get its hands on the Budweiser and Bud Light brands, two of the top four selling beers in the world. Carlos Brito, Chief Executive of Belgium's InBev, said so quite clearly. Not only that, he also promised Bud would go on to be made in the same breweries, and that none in the U.S. would be shut down should the merger occurs. He also promised to keep most of management in place.

Well, for me the big question has always been why? What is this Belgian-Brazilian company fascination with beer brands that are so American -- in recognition and in taste. Well, it turns out that this is only partly true. While it is true that it is mostly Americans who drink light beers, Budweiser has actually captured sizable market share outside the U.S., like 13% in Ireland and 11.5% in Canada in 2006.

Continue reading Why would InBev even want Anheuser-Busch's Bud?

Why would InBev even want Anheuser-Busch's Bud? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo! (YHOO) starts to defocus efforts on 'premium' services

Brian White — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:21:00 EST

Filed under: Rumors, Products and Services, Yahoo! (YHOO)

Yahoo! Inc.'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) fortunes seem to have shifted in the last few months, with purchases like BlueLithium and Zimbra firming up the company's strategy inside targeted consumer behavior (when it comes to online ads and purchases) and corporate email. In fact, those two acquisitions sound like knives in the collective backs of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), respectively. Google's future revenue enterprise may rest on more efficiently connecting buyers and sellers, and Microsoft's presence in the corporate email market with its Exchange product is huge.

So, when I hear of Yahoo! starting to possibly de-emphasize the premium services that former CEO Terry Semel trumpeted from the top of his lungs back in 2002, it just shows how things have changed in the internet portal marketplace. No longer are customers willing to pay to receive services they can get elsewhere for free. Add that on top of the Google-led shift to advertising as a sole revenue source and away from a paid-customer model, and Yahoo! seems to finally be acknowledging that it may need to follow suit.

First up is the Yahoo! Music business, which runs a music subscription model (monthly paid service) that, according to sources, is not doing too well. With so many other competitors in the market for downloadable music, this comes as little surprise. I have to wonder how many resources have been dumped into Yahoo! Music thus far, or if it has ever made money? Marketing dollars and headcount will be moving into other strategic areas it appears, and I'll surmise that Yahoo! Music won't be the only premium (paid) service to come under the microscope soon.

Yahoo! (YHOO) starts to defocus efforts on 'premium' services originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo dumps Semel. What took so long?

Peter Cohan — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:04:00 EST

Filed under: Management, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO)

Finally, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has ditched its CEO Terry Semel, according to MarketWatch. And the new CEO is Jerry Yang, a co-founder of the company. Former CFO, Susan Decker was named president, positioning her for a chance to take over the top slot.

It is beyond me why Semel held onto his job for so long. He helped stabilize Yahoo after the dot-com crash but has stumbled from one incompetent quarter to the next for years. And he has taken home some truly outrageous pay -- a total of $452 million in salary, bonus and stock-option exercises since April 2001 [subscription] -- during which time Yahoo stock has risen four-fold.

However, in the last year the disconnect between Semel's pay and Yahoo's performance became too much to take. According to the New York Times, his total 2006 pay was $107.5 million during which time Yahoo's stock fell 35%. And directors concluded Yahoo was just not catching up fast enough with Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) so Semel had to go.

Susan Decker had been positioned to take over the company as CEO. But Yahoo's board probably decided that she was not yet ready. However, she is considered to have the inside track during the CEO search to replace Semel. So Yang's appointment could be just a temporary move that will help stabilize the company until she is ready.

Or, with the stock up 8% to $29.62 in after-hours trading, he might just sell it. It would make a nice morsel for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned in this post.

[See our live blog of the web cast in which Terry Semel discusses his resignation here.]

Yahoo dumps Semel. What took so long? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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