Major Yahoo shareholder requests probe into CEO vote

Major Yahoo shareholder requests probe into CEO vote New York  - A major shareholder in internet giant Yahoo Inc has requested a probe into the closely-watched re-election of chief executive Jerry Yang during last week's shareholders' meeting, US news reports said Tuesday.

The request follows speculation that Yang's share of the poll appeared higher than if votes had been cast as recommended prior to Friday's meeting, The Wall Street Journal reported in its Tuesday edition.

Yahoo however contended that independent shareholders had swayed the election in Yang's favour.

The company chief had been under fire prior to the meeting for having rebuffed a takeover approach by Microsoft.

The newspaper said shareholder Capital Research Global Investors had on Monday asked an independent vote counter to examine the results of the election.

Capital Research, which together with an associated fund owns over 16 per cent of Yahoo shares, had advised its funds to withhold votes for Yang's re-election.

Yang had nonetheless received 85 per cent of ballots cast Friday, according to Yahoo.

The shareholder meeting saw the re-election of the entire Yahoo board in line with the company's recommendation.

The board has however been enlarged to 11 seats, three of them occupied by rebel shareholder Carl Icahn and two of his associates. Icahn had spearheaded a bid to topple the Yahoo board in the wake of the failed Microsoft deal, but both sides managed to strike a compromise.

Icahn, a tenacious investor and billionaire, is understood to favour continued pursuit of an agreement with Microsoft.

The software giant had offered in excess of 45 billion dollars for Yahoo, a sum rejected by Yang. (dpa)

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