Legg lift gives Yang a stronger hand | Good Morning Silicon Valley

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Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang’s impassioned campaign to keep his job and control of the company he helped found has won over a key swing vote. Bill Miller, chairman and chief investment officer of Legg Mason Capital Management, said today that if it comes to a proxy shootout at the Aug. 1 shareholders meeting, Legg will vote its 60.7 million shares (about 4.4 percent of total) in favor of Yang and the incumbents, not the dissident slate led by Carl Icahn that hopes to revive some sort of deal with Microsoft. Acknowledging that major shareholders have a right to be represented on the board, Miller said, “Mr. Icahn’s slate includes people experienced in technology, advertising, capital markets and governance. We would prefer that the company and Mr. Icahn reach a mutual agreement on the composition of the Board and end this disruptive proxy contest.” He also advised Microsoft to stop fussing about who’s on the board and put any offer it has in mind on the table for all the shareholders to see.

Legg lift gives Yang a stronger hand | Good Morning Silicon Valley