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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
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SCHEDULE 14A
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Yahoo! Inc. issued the following press release on July 21, 2008.
YAHOO! ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT WITH CARL ICAHN
SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 21, 2008 Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company,
announced today that it has reached an agreement with Carl Icahn to settle their pending proxy
contest related to the Companys 2008 annual meeting of stockholders.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, eight members of Yahoo!s current Board of Directors
will stand for re-election at the 2008 annual meeting: Roy Bostock, Ronald Burkle, Eric Hippeau,
Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern, Mary Agnes Wilderotter, Gary Wilson and Jerry Yang. In view of the
settlement agreement with Mr. Icahn, and the termination of the proxy contest, Robert Kotick has
decided not to stand for re-election to the Board at the 2008 annual meeting.
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 Boards Nominating and Governance Committee from a list of nine candidates
recommended by Mr. Icahn, which includes the eight remaining members of the Icahn slate of nominees
and Jonathan Miller, currently a partner in Velocity Interactive Group and former Chairman and CEO
of AOL.
As part of the settlement agreement, Mr. Icahn, who owns an aggregate of 68,786,320 shares, or
4.98% of Yahoo! common stock, has agreed to withdraw his nominees for consideration at the annual
meeting and to vote his Yahoo! shares in support of the Boards nominees.
We are gratified to have reached this agreement, which serves the best interests of all Yahoo!
stockholders, said Yahoo! Chairman Roy Bostock. We look forward to working productively with Carl
and the new members of the Board on continuing to improve the Companys performance and enhancing
stockholder value. Yahoo! is a world-class company with an extremely bright future, and
collaborating together, I believe we can help the Company achieve its ambitious goals.
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, said Yahoo! Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Jerry Yang. No other company in the Internet space has our unique combination of global brand,
talented employees, innovative technologies and exceptional assets, attributes that will help us
take advantage of the large and growing opportunity ahead of us. I look forward to working
together with our new colleagues on the Board to make that happen.
Mr. Icahn said, I am very pleased that this settlement will allow me to work in partnership with
Yahoo!s Board and management team to help the Company achieve its full potential. While I
continue to believe that the sale of the whole Company or the sale of its Search business in the
right transaction must be given full consideration, I share the view that Yahoo!s valuable
collection of assets positions it well to continue expanding its online leadership and enhancing
returns to stockholders. I believe this is a good outcome and that we will have a strong working
relationship going forward. Additionally, I am happy that the board has agreed in the settlement
agreement that any meaningful transaction, including the strategy in dealing with that transaction,
will be fully discussed with the entire board before any final decision is made.
In response to Mr. Koticks decision to step down from the Board, Mr. Bostock said, I would like
to personally thank Bobby for his dedicated service to Yahoo! these past 5 years. Bobby has been a
valuable resource to our Board and the Company and we are grateful for his contributions. He
wanted to help see the Company through this recent chapter, but made it clear to me that once the
proxy contest was resolved, he was eager to focus his efforts on his work as CEO of the newly
merged Activision Blizzard and his other business and civic pursuits.
The Company intends to file the full text of the settlement agreement later today with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and will also file and mail to its stockholders, supplemental
proxy material.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release (including without limitation the statements and information in the quotations
in this press release) contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties
concerning Yahoo!s strategic and operational plans. Actual results may differ materially from
those described in this release due to a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and
uncertainties include, among others, the expected benefits of the commercial agreement with Google
may not be realized, including as a result of actions taken by United States or foreign regulatory
authorities and the response or acceptance of the agreement by publishers, advertisers, users and
employees; the implementation and results of Yahoo!s ongoing strategic initiatives; the impact of
organizational changes; Yahoo!s ability to compete with new or existing competitors; reduction in
spending by, or loss of, marketing services customers; the demand by customers for Yahoo!s premium
services; acceptance by users of new products and services; risks related to joint ventures and the
integration of acquisitions; risks related to Yahoo!s international operations; failure to manage
growth and diversification; adverse results in litigation, including intellectual property
infringement claims; Yahoo!s ability to protect its intellectual property and the value of its
brands; dependence on key personnel; dependence on third parties for technology, services, content
and distribution; general economic conditions and changes in economic conditions; potential
continuing uncertainty arising in connection with Microsofts various proposals to acquire all or
part of Yahoo!; the possibility that Microsoft or another person may in the future make other
proposals, or take other actions which may create uncertainty for our employees, publishers,
advertisers and other business partners; and the possibility of significant costs of defense,
indemnification and liability resulting from stockholder litigation relating to such proposals.
More information about potential factors that could affect Yahoo!s business and financial results
is included under the captions Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Yahoo!s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, as amended, and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2008, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
and available at the SECs website at www.sec.gov. All
information in this release is as of July 21, 2008, unless otherwise noted, and Yahoo! does not
intend, and undertakes no duty, to update or otherwise revise the information contained in this
letter.
About Yahoo! Inc.
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations
worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and
developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in
Sunnyvale, California.
Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All other
names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Yahoo! Inc.
Brad Williams, 408-349-7069 (Media)
bhw@yahoo-inc.com
Marta Nichols, 408-349-3527 (Investors)
mnichols@yahoo-inc.com
or
The Abernathy MacGregor Group for Yahoo! Inc.
Adam Miller, 212-371-5999 (Media)
alm@abmac.com
Winnie Lerner, 212-371-5999 (Media)
wal@abmac.com