150 shareholders attended the delayed Yahoo general meeting in California on Friday – and gave a resounding show of support to the board for the way it had handled the failed talks with Microsoft about a $47.5 billion possible takeover.
Chief executive Jerry Yang gained the backing of 85% of the voters. But it wasn’t a complete love-in. According to the BBC, shareholder Eric Jackson of Ironfire Capital called for the resignation of chairman Eric Bostock over the aborted deal. In response Bostock informed the meeting that "the board controlled the process of dealing with Microsoft right from the beginning. We called the shots." He received an 80% backing in a re-election vote.
Cal Icahn, who’d threatened to use his shares to oust the entire board, didn’t attend after he and two nominees had been given seats on the board.
