EMC’s Business Finance blog

The Microsoft-Yahoo merger saga may not be over yet.

Carl C. Icahn, the billionaire investor and activist shareholder, is considering a proxy fight for several seats on Yahoo’s board in hopes of pushing the company to restart talks to sell itself to Microsoft, people who have held discussions with him said on Tuesday.

Mr. Icahn’s interest comes less than two weeks after Microsoft withdrew a $47.5 billion offer for Yahoo after being rebuffed. Mr. Icahn has told associates that he bought as many as 50 million shares of Yahoo — worth more than $1 billion — in anticipation of pressing for seats on its board. He has also inquired at Microsoft, through various friends, about whether he could help bring them back to the negotiating table, these people said. He has received little encouragement, these people said, because Microsoft has insisted that it has “moved on.” As a result, it remains unclear whether Mr. Icahn will move forward, these people added.