FTC clears investor Icahn to purchase Yahoo shares

Carl Icahn

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Story Published: May 31, 2008 at 12:44 PM PDT

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal antitrust regulators have cleared activist billionaire investor Carl Icahn's purchase of another $1.5 billion of shares of Internet company Yahoo Inc.

Icahn launched a proxy fight last month to remove Yahoo's board of directors after the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company rejected Microsoft Corp.'s last takeover bid of $47.5 billion bid. He has called Yahoo's actions "irrational" and nominated an alternate slate of 10 directors, including himself.

To gain leverage in the fight, Icahn has spent more than $1 billion to buy 59 million Yahoo shares and options to give him a 4.3 percent stake in the company. He has sought approval from the Federal Trade Commission to acquire up to $2.5 billion in Yahoo stock, including his current holdings.

The FTC included the deal on a list of transactions released Friday that received an "early termination" of their antitrust reviews. Early termination refers to the completion of a review by the FTC or Justice Department before the end of a 30-day period required under antitrust law

While Icahn has made it clear he wants Yahoo sold to Microsoft, there are no guarantees the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker is still interested in buying Yahoo.

Shares of Yahoo fell 31 cents to close Friday at $26.76.

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