SUNNYVALE (dpa-AFX) - Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) announced that its Board of Directors has named Fred Amoroso as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Ross Levinsohn as interim Chief Executive Officer or CEO, effective immediately.
The company also announced that its Board has reached an agreement with Third Point LLC to settle its pending proxy contest related to the company's 2012 annual meeting of shareholders.
As a part of the settlement agreement, Third Point, which owns an aggregate of 70,545,400 shares, or 5.8% of Yahoo! common stock, has agreed to withdraw its previous Board nominations for consideration at the annual meeting and vote its shares in support of Yahoo!'s nominees.
Commenting on Amoroso, the company said he replaces Roy Bostock, who has stepped down from his role as Non-Executive Chairman in order to accelerate the leadership transition for the new Board.
In addition, Levinsohn replaces Scott Thompson, former Chief Executive Officer, who has left the Company, Yahoo said.
The company noted that under the Board's settlement agreement with Third Point, three Third Point nominees - Daniel Loeb, Harry Wilson, and Michael Wolf will join the Yahoo! Board, effective May 16, 2012.
As interim CEO, Levinsohn will manage the company's day-to-day operations with assistance from Yahoo!'s existing senior leadership team.
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