Yahoo!'s board gets shareholder backing

Yahoo!'s board of directors won strong backing from shareholders at its annual meeting on Friday, with Jerry Yang, the company's embattled CEO, receiving 85 per cent of the vote in his favour.

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18.David Yu Betfair
19.Satoru Iwata Nintendo
20.Mark Hurd HP

Investors holding nearly 76 per cent of Yahoo!'s 1.38 billion shares gave solid votes in favour of all nine current directors, in what represents an endorsement of their tough stance with Microsoft in talks on a merger or partial sale.

Executives and board members tried to soothe dissenting investors, insisting Yahoo! had been serious in the Microsoft talks and that it has good prospects in the next three years.

Seeking to counter attempts by some to blame Yang for talks collapsing, chairman Roy Bostock said Yahoo!'s board "called the shots" when discussing Microsoft's proposals, including a $47.5bn bid and attempts to buy Yahoo!'s web search business.

Bostock said he could not understand why the software maker withdrew its bid. He said: "There was never a compelling offer put on the table. That never occurred in this process."

A Microsoft spokesman disputed Bostock's version of events, saying: "Yahoo! is attempting to rewrite history yet again."

The solid vote in favour of the directors surprised even some Yahoo! officials, who had braced for a stronger protest vote after the Microsoft saga and older grievances over Yahoo!'s slipping performance against Google.

Three members of Yahoo!'s executive compensation committee - Bostock, Ron Burkle and Arthur Kern - each received about 80 per cent in favour of re-election, with the remaining votes withheld in protest. The "Gang of Three," as one dissident labelled them at the meeting, had received more than a 30 per cent unfavourable vote at the 2007 annual meeting.

Yahoo! had averted a proxy battle with billionaire Carl Icahn two weeks ago by reaching a settlement with the activist investor that will expand its board to 11 members from nine and result in Icahn joining the board.

A Yahoo! spokeswoman declined to comment on the action.