WSJ: Activist investor Starboard is launching a proxy fight to remove Yahoo's entire board
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(Reuters) - Activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP, which is leading an investor revolt against Yahoo Inc's management team, is seeking to remove the entire board of the struggling Internet company, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The activist investor, which owns about 0.75 percent of Yahoo, plans to announce Thursday morning that it will nominate nine directors to Yahoo's board, the Journal said, citing a Starboard letter.
"The board and management have continually failed to live up to their own promises and shouldn't be trusted with the decision on whether Yahoo should remain an independent company," the paper reported, citing the letter.
Starboard has been pushing for changes at Yahoo since 2014, asking it to separate its Asian assets and sell the core business.
Reuters reported on March 4 that Yahoo executives would meet this month with Starboard Value. The two sides will discuss whether they can come to an agreement in order to avoid a proxy fight for control of Yahoo.
Shareholders have until March 26 to submit nominations for board members to be elected at Yahoo's annual meeting this spring. Starboard has said it is willing to launch a proxy fight with its own nominations.
Telecommunications company Verizon Communications Inc and publisher Time Inc are among the companies expected to bid for Yahoo's core business, while some private equity firms are expected to team up to make offers.
Representatives at Yahoo and Starboard Value could not be reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.
(Reporting By Aurindom Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)