Yahoo postpones annual meeting, board member resigns
updated 11:35 pm EDT, Thu May 22, 2008
Edward Kozel steps down
Amid the ongoing Yahoo financial drama, Edward Kozel, a member of Yahoo’s board of directors, is stepping down from his position to spend more time with his family and the company has postponed its annual meeting until the end of July. MarketWatch reports that the news comes as billionaire Carl Icahn sets is sights on replacing Yahoo’s board in a proxy war, and could be Kozel’s way of dealing with not wanting to lose face in the eyes of other potential companies. Kozel announced he would be focusing on personal matters, including a move with his family to Europe in the summer.
Kozel originally wanted to leave Yahoo in February, but stuck around during the company’s time of need as Microsoft made an unsolicited multi-billion dollar bid for the search giant.
Analyst Rob Enderle asserts that this could be merely the first small pebbles of a larger landslide, placing increasing pressure on the remaining nine board members. Other members may jump ship as the situation rolls forward, with many upset at Microsoft for causing all the upset in the first place.
This latest development comes as Microsoft, which recently pulled its formal offer and proxy board bid, is still in talks with Yahoo about the former potentially divvying up and purchase the latter’s ad service to pair with its own.
Yahoo is also trying to expedite a deal with Google’s AdSense program – a move originally set in motion to deter Microsoft’s interest in the company, that is now an attempt to protect itself from Icahn’s proxy war.
