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Shareholders Denied Expedited Trial Over Yahoo Severance

A Delaware Court on Monday denied a fast-track schedule to the lawsuit waged by two Detroit pension funds against Yahoo for its handling of the failed Microsoft negotiations, which means the suit will not go to trial before the company's annual shareholder meeting on Aug 1.

The pension funds launched the suit with the intent of invalidating a controversial severance plan, dubbed a "poison pill" by many, that the shareholders claim would have made any change in control of ownership a costly endeavor. The severance plan offers generous compensation to Yahoo employees who are either let go or forced to change their jobs as a result of new ownership.

The shareholders had sought a trial to get the severance plan invalidated prior to the Aug. 1 meeting, when billionaire investor and Yahoo shareholder Carl Icahn plans to nominate a proxy slate to replace the Yahoo board. The funds are obviously concerned that unless the severance plan is invalidated, a successful takeover by Icahn would trigger the plan at great cost to shareholders. Unfortunately for them and other irate Yahoo shareholders, that motion was denied.

Read the whole story at CNet News.com »

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