By Eric Auchard
Yahoo's board "called the shots" when discussing
Microsoft's proposals, including a $47.5 billion buyout bid as
well as attempts to buy Yahoo's Web search business, Chairman
Roy Bostock said.
There was never any doubt that directors were open to a
deal with Microsoft, Bostock said, adding he could not
understand why the software maker withdrew its full takeover
offer.
"There was never a compelling offer put on the table,"
Bostock said at the shareholder meeting at a hotel in San Jose,
California. "That never occurred in this process."
A Microsoft spokesman disputed Bostock's version of events,
saying "Yahoo is attempting to rewrite history yet again."
Yahoo shareholders criticized the board and management,
highlighting the dissatisfaction that has dogged the company's
shares since talks about a full Microsoft acquisition broke up
in May.
"I think you have overpaid in terms of executive
compensation, overplayed your hand with Microsoft and
overstayed your welcome on the board," said Eric Jackson, a
vocal critic of Yahoo's leadership.
Jackson is a fund manager with Ironfire Capital in Tampa,
Florida, and holder of 250 Yahoo shares, who leads a loose-knit
group of 150 other shareholders who collectively own 3.2
million shares.
Another investor said he wanted to know how much time Yahoo
directors spent doing their jobs to earn their pay.
"I'd like to see timesheets posted on the Internet for the
work of the directors as well as the executives of the
company," said Dirk Neyhart, a retired stockbroker from
Berkeley, California, who said he holds less than 1,000 shares
of Yahoo. He holds shares in more than 600 companies, he said.
26-HOUR DAYS
Bostock said he would be happy to comply, given the
considerable time spent negotiating with Microsoft over the
last six months.
"It's been about 26 hours in the course of a 24-hour day,"
Bostock said.
Nine Yahoo candidates were standing for election to the
board on Friday, including Bostock and Chief Executive Jerry
Yang, who have borne the brunt of investor anger over the
collapsed deal.
Yang painted an optimistic view of Yahoo's ability to
capture the shift of advertising dollars to the Internet, even
as the company lags behind rival Google Inc.
The Yahoo co-founder said his company expects 335 million
additional Internet users to come online worldwide by 2010, for
a total potential audience of 1.56 billion.
A majority of these Web users will be in Asia or emerging
markets, Yang said, where Yahoo has a strong Web presence.
IcahnJonathan Millercorporate parent Time Warner Incjoining YahooActivision Blizzard
(Additional reporting by Michele Gershberg and Kenneth Li
in New York and Anupreeta Das in San Francisco; Editing by
Braden Reddall)
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