The vacancies left some room on Yahoo’s board. Loeb, who is the largest shareholder outside the company, nominated himself and three others to the roles – Maeva Group CEO Harry Wilson, former MTV Networks President Michael Wolf and former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker – but Yahoo’s existing board gave them minimal consideration. Instead, the Board named three new directors – John D. Hayes, an executive at credit card company American Express (AXP); Peter Liguori, a former chief operating officer of Discovery Communications (DISCA); and Thomas J. McInerney, outgoing chief financial officer of Internet company IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI). The board rejected Loeb and his nominees saying that its candidates were “more qualified” and that Loeb would be “conflicted” as a shareholder because of his large ownership stake.
Loeb called the Board’s “illogical,” saying that “Only in an illogical Alice-in-Wonderland world would a shareholder be deemed to be conflicted from representing the interests of other shareholders because he is, well, a shareholder too.” Loeb continued, ”This sentiment further confirms that Yahoo’s approach to Board representation is shareholders not welcome.”
Now, Loeb is taking his fight digital. The hedge fund manager “has launched a website and blog as a one-stop shop for all reasons why investors should back his slate of directors to the Internet company’s board,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “The site, valueyahoo.com, comes complete with smiling pictures and biographies of the nominees. And it has a fancy logo that depicts Yahoo’s name in Las-Vegas-Strip-like lights with a sign that says ‘vacancy’ and adds ‘New Directors, New Direction Needed.’”
ValueYahoo even has a Facebook page, which is described as “a resource for those who support change and a better future for Yahoo!”
