Let’s assume that Yahoo fails to agree on a deal with Microsoft in three weeks’ time. Microsoft, presumably, will launch a proxy battle to take over Yahoo’s board.

First, Yahoo has to send out its proxy materials to shareholders, which includes information about its board nominees. (Yahoo recently extended the deadline for nominating board members to 10 days after it announces its annual meeting, and the company still hasn’t scheduled that yet.) Given that Yahoo’s shareholder meeting was in June of last year, that could imply that the deadline to nominate candidates for the board would fall in May.

After Yahoo sends out its proxy materials, Microsoft sends out its own set of proxies to shareholders. Microsoft would solicit votes for its slate of handpicked board nominees, assuming that if it can take over Yahoo’s board, it can steer the company’s strategic direction, which would likely increase the chances of a merger.

“It’s not a foregone conclusion that the Microsoft-Yahoo deal will happen immediately [if Microsoft takes over Yahoo’s board],” says Barry Genkin, an attorney and partner at Blank Rome. “The moment someone becomes a director [on Yahoo’s board], his or her fiduciary responsibility is to determine what’s in the best interest of Yahoo shareholders. The board has to look at all ways to enhance shareholder value, and it has to carefully consider the price of a Microsoft deal.”

Genkin says a proxy battle can cost millions of dollars, but it’s a cheap way to gain control of a company, versus outright buying a corporation through a tender offer, which could potentially cost billions of dollars. (In a tender offer, an acquiring company buys outstanding shares of a company directly from shareholders.)

Historically, proxy battles have been somewhat rare in the tech sector, but Genkin says they are likely to become more common.

“We’re already seeing it,” he says. “We’re seeing it with Cnet right now. [Proxy battles] used to be rare, because tech stocks traded at such high multiples. But since the sector’s been hammered, you’re seeing a lot of hedge funds with big positions in a company, launching proxy contests to effect change. I think you’re going to see a host of contests in the coming year.”

Spread the word: related/bookmark it/readit

Source: blog.wired.com

By: Mandeep

The following is a list of things that can help you in increasing your blog’s usability.

Navigation:

There are variety of templates to give skin to your blog. But choosing the best template is a critical job. Templates with scroll down to the bottom of the blog to navigate are not the best choice. Stick to standard left column or right column navigation.

Search Box:

You should include a search box in the main body of your blog or the sidebar. Other than the convenience for users, the added advantage is that unlike Google search box, the search results will appear in the main body of your Blog. Continual visitors may not remember a post that’s not instinctive to find through your navigation menu or tag system. They might also want to find their own comments, so make that possible by placing a search box somewhere in your layout.

Background & Text:

Anything that makes your blog harder to read should be avoided. Avoid low contrast combinations like black with red and busy patterned backgrounds. White text on a black background, causes eyestrain.

Linking to Posts:

You can use permalinks.These remains unchanged so points to a specific blog or forum entry after it has passed from the front page to the archives.Linking back to previous entries builds page strength for those posts and can help you with search engine rankings. But don’t be afraid to link off your site, this can help you get noticed by other bloggers.You can combine links with template tags like header, footer, or sidebar. You can make Absolute links (defines absolutely where to find the target of the link) OR Relative links (define the location of another document in relation to the current document) in your blog posts.

Excessive Advertising:

When ads appear all over the page and even in the middle of posts, the user suffers. Avoid contextual ads programs that highlight words in your posts to make them look like hyperlinks, but popup an ad when they are rolled over with a mouse.

Mannage Your Comments:

Don’t allow everyone to post whatever they want in your comments section. Not only is this annoying to your readers, but also takes down the professionalism of your blog. So moderate your comments yourself.

Regular Posting:

Don’t put time lags between posts.Pick a posting schedule and stick to it. If you don’t have anything to post you can give link of anothers blog post in your blog post. It wil not harm your blog because atleast you are providing a useful info to your reader.

Be Subject Specific:

Don’t make posts on different subjects other then your theme or subject of your blog. Categories should relevent to your blog theme.Random blog entries are not a good approach for a serious, professional blog.

Spread the word: related/bookmark it/readit