Activist investor Daniel Loeb has bought a stake in Yahoo! and launched a campaign against the board following its dismissal of Carol Bartz as CEO. Loeb's Third Point said in a regulatory filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had 5.1 percent of the company's shares and that it had written to the board to argue that its chairman and three other members should resign, the Financial Times reports. Yahoo's board suffered a similar fight in 2008 against the investor Carl Icahn, when negotiations for Microsoft to buy Yahoo fell apart. That led to the resignation of founder Jerry Yang as CEO and the appointment of Bartz. In the letter to the board, Loeb said that she was a poor choice to begin with, given her lack of consumer internet experience, and that the board had waited too long to fire her. He said she bungled a smaller deal to share search advertising with Microsoft and alienated key allies at Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group in China, where Yahoo has large minority investments. The letter said the board had to take responsibility for allowing such lapses, which returned the company's share price to levels as low as when Bartz joined. The stock has risen about 15 percent since her dismissal. Loes said replacing the CEO will not be enough to get the company back on track. He called for a new board, with "directors who will bring fresh eyes, relevant industry expertise and increased investor alignment". A Yahoo spokesman said the board "recognises 6the critical challenges facing the company and appreciates constructive input from all shareholders". The board "welcomes a dialogue" about Third Point's concerns, he said.
