Yahoo appoints 3 to board of directors

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Internet company Yahoo has appointed three members to its board of directors, gearing up for a proxy fight with one of its largest shareholders.

The announcement Sunday comes four days after Third Point LLC launched a campaign to win four seats on Yahoo’s board.

Yahoo Inc.’s nominees to the board are John Hayes, chief marketing officer of American Express, Peter Liguori, former chief operating officer of Discovery Communications Inc., and Thomas McInerney, the outgoing chief financial officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp.

The announcement sets the stage for a nasty proxy battle that could drag on for months.

Hedge fund Third Point, which owns a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo, last week suggested four new directors for the board, including fund manager Daniel Loeb, former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker, former MTV Networks executive Michael Wolf and turnaround specialist Harry Wilson.