Tag Archive: Roy Bostock

In no uncertain terms, Yahoo has turned down a joint bid from Microsoft and billionaire investor Carl Icahn to take over the company. Under the terms, Microsoft would have acquired the search engine business and Icahn would have got the rest of Yahoo.

Yahoo claims that it was given just 24 hours to consider the offer and there was no time for negotiation, the BBC reports.
In a statement, Roy Bostock, Yahoo’s chairman, said:

"It is ludicrous to think that our board would accept such a proposal. This odd and opportunistic alliance of Microsoft and Carl Icahn has anything but the interests of Yahoo!’s stockholders in mind."

In a letter to shareholders, Yahoo is extolling the results of its recent advertising partnership with Google, claiming the arrangement will result in anywhere from $250 to $450 million in cash flow during its first year. And while the letter doesn’t take the idea of a merger with Microsoft off the table entirely, it certainly paints Google as a more desirable partner than Microsoft—a stance that’s sure to further rankle shareholders already leading a revolt because Yahoo didn’t accept Microsoft’s unsolicited buyout offer earlier this year.

Investor Carl Icahn isn’t a happy man. The billionaire investor has his sights set on ousting the Yahoo board over their handling of the Microsoft acquisition offer. His latest strategy has been to write to the current chairman, Roy Bostock, attacking him over the so-called “poison pill” idea the board apparently inaugurated as a deterrent to a Microsoft takeover.

The poison pill strategy would effectively encourage employees not to work as hard, so they could be fired and take advantage of a generous severance package. The package would include up to two years salary and benefits, as well as $15,000 of outplacement expenses, and accelerated vesting of stock options and restricted stock units. The employee would also be able to resign with “good reason” within a two year window of someone else taking control of Yahoo.  Read more...