The Yahoo drama continues Video

The Yahoo drama continues Video Transcript

[ Music ] ^M00:00:03

>> You could call it the tech industry equivalent of a high school romance gone wrong.

>> After six months of he loves me, he loves me not; we could see some action tomorrow in the ongoing soap opera among Microsoft, Yahoo and investor Carl Icahn. Cnet reporter, Kara Tsuboi is in Sunnyvale now. Kara.

>> Well, Dana, more then 3500 hundred Yahoo employees work at this company headquarter behind me, and their fate in this complicate drama is still unknown. But analysts expect that tomorrow's shareholder meeting could just be business as usual. But whenever Carl Ichan gets involved, you can count on a surprise or two.

>> It's definitely good drama around here and a lot of people are keeping up with the story at least at a high level.

>> Silicon Valley is a buzzed over the on again, off again relationship between Microsoft, Yahoo and investor, Carl Icahn.

>> It's kind of really hot news right now.

>> They want Jerry Yang out, that's the last I heard.

>> Back in February, Microsoft made its first offer for rival Yahoo.

>> Microsoft thinks that by acquiring Yahoo, it can get the necessary clout to take on another big rival, Google, which is a money printing operation right now.

>> After months of back and forth, Yahoo shut Microsoft down, but that wasn't goodbye for long.

>> The next big thing that happened was Carl Icahn came on the scene.

>> He holds almost 5% of Yahoo's stock and is considered a millionaire activist investor, with a mixed track record.

>> He's more; less charitably called a corporate raider.

>> In mid May, Icahn launched a fight to oust Jerry Yang and unseat Yahoo's current board.

>> That meant he was essentially trying to take over the company.

>> Days later...

>> Microsoft came back with a second offer, which was just to acquire Yahoo's search assets. They thought, well maybe if we can't get all of Yahoo, we'll just get the piece we're most interested in.

>> Microsoft and Icahn then formed an alliance to force Yahoo's hand.

>> One of the big criticisms of Carl Icahn that Yahoo is had though, is that he has no plan beyond making a deal happen with Microsoft.

>> Not surprising, Yahoo yet again, rejects Microsoft, but in fact, goes around the Seattle giant and strikes a deal with Icahn.

>> Carl Icahn and Yahoo negotiated a truce essentially. Instead of Carl Icahn trying to replace the entire board, he would get essentially three seats on the board, himself and two others.

>> [Inaudible], I'd like to see Yahoo stay around as is, they've done some good stuff, they've been here a long time, and it'd be nice to see them continue.

>> Besides the fate of the employees being unknown so is the fate of Yahoo's CEO, Jerry Yang. If shareholders get hostile in tomorrow's Q and A session, it could lay the groundwork for a new man in charge. Now, what's also unknown is whether or not Microsoft will reenter the scene and express renewed interest for buying a portion of the company.

>> Any ideal who the other two board members might be, in addition to Icahn?

>> Not yet. Of course, there is a ton of speculation down here in the Valley to who those two people could be. But Icahn and the board will have two weeks until Friday, August 15th to name the two new members.

>> All right, CNET reporter, Kara Tsuboi.

>> Thank you. ^M00:03:02 [ Music ]