Icahn Stock Grab May Signal New Yahoo CEO

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 28, 2008 6:54 PM CST
Icahn Stock Grab May Signal New Yahoo CEO
In this Oct. 11, 2007 file photo, private equity investor Carl Icahn speaks at the World Business Forum in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)

Corporate raider Carl Icahn bought about $65 million in Yahoo shares this week, sparking AllThingsD blogger Kara Swisher to speculate that an "Icahn-friendly" CEO is on the way. Icahn's purchase, likely an attempt to recoup the $900 million he lost on his Yahoo stake this year, points to two former executives Icahn brought to the Yahoo board as probable replacements for Jerry Yang, Swisher writes.

One is ex-media exec Frank Biondi Jr.; the other, former Nextel exec John Chapple. Or, Swisher admits, Yahoo may choose a low-profile outsider from the tech world who can quietly turn the company around. Icahn's purchase increases his control of Yahoo to about 5.4%, which, along with his three board seats, makes it more likely that he can get the board to pick a CEO amenable to a deal with Microsoft. Yahoo shares rose 33 cents today on the news, closing at $10.58.
(More Yahoo stories.)

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