Carl Icahn never really made much of a case for what he would do if he could not sell all or part of Yahoo! (YHOO) to Microsoft (MSFT). He wanted Yahoo! shareholder to support his proxy bid based largely on the hope of an M&A event.
Microsoft never promised Icahn a deal. It was always a "maybe"
Icahn could have put together a detailed operating plan for the existing company, but it might have undermined his argument that the Yahoo! should not stay independent. Basing his move to unseat the Yahoo! board on a one dimensional plan has now cost him the chance of taking the company over.
Legg Mason, which owns 4.4% of Yahoo!’s shares and whose actions are carefully followed by other big stockholders in the company will back the current Yahoo! board at the company’s annual meeting on August 1. Nothing Icahn has said about how he will get a premium value for the portal firm has impressed the money manager, especially because Microsoft has other alternatives, one of which is to buy Time Warner’s (TWX) AOL.
Icahn gambled that Microsoft was a sure thing. It wasn’t and his effort to oust the current board and put in his own will be voted down.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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