Yahoo Compromises with Icahn, Repeats Must Buy Mantra

In anticipation of its upcoming annual meeting of stockholders, Yahoo settled with activist investor Carl Icahn after weeks of wrangling over a potential proxy battle. According to Yahoo, eight members of its current Board of Directors will stand for re-election, and Icahn agreed to withdraw his nominees for consideration at the meeting. He also said he will vote his Yahoo shares in support of the Board’s nominees.

“Following the 2008 annual meeting, the Yahoo Board will be expanded to 11 members. Carl Icahn will be appointed to the Board and the remaining two seats will be filled by the Board upon the recommendation of the Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee from a list of nine candidates recommended by Mr. Icahn,” according to a company statement.

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tout the firm’s goal to be the Web’s “starting point” and an advertiser “must buy.”

“This agreement will not only allow Yahoo to put the distraction of the proxy contest behind us, it will allow the Company to continue pursuing its strategy of being the starting point for Internet users and a must buy for advertisers,” he said in the statement.

Is anybody else getting tired of this mantra?

The thing is, Yahoo still has the Microsoft drama that started the Icahn subplot to deal with before it can truly focus on becoming the “starting point” and “must buy.”