Hedge Fund Manager Dan Loeb is worried Jerry Yang, the founder of Yahoo, will muck up its sale reports the Wall Street Journal. Loeb, who manages the Third Point hedge fund, is an activist investor, meaning that his fund tends to take positions large enough to give them a say in company management and operations. The idea is that by having a large enough stake, the activist investor can maximize shareholder value. In this case, Loeb thinks that Yang should be deposed.
Dan Loeb Calls for Jerry Yang’s Head
Dan Loeb feels so strongly about Yang’s dismissal, that he sent a letter to the Yahoo board. In that letter, Loeb explained that he is worried about a “leveraged recap transaction the company is pursuing.” The issue is that if the transaction is approved, it ” would give private-equity firms a possible shot at taking over control of Yahoo without buying a majority stake. “Loeb also said he is worried about reports Yang is talking on his own to potential private-equity buyers of Yahoo.” Loeb said, “The Board and the Strategic Committee should not have permitted Mr. Yang to engage in these discussions, particularly given his ineptitude in dealing with the Microsoft negotiations to purchase the Company in 200.”
