Yahoo’s chief executive, Jerry Yang, pushed for an expensive plan to retain employees in the event of an acquisition by Microsoft despite reservations of some Yahoo executives and of a consulting firm that Yahoo hired to help devise the plan, according to a shareholder lawsuit.The allegations against Yahoo and its board were made public in newly unsealed documents in a suit filed in Delaware’s Court of Chancery by two Detroit pension plans, saying that Yahoo’s board had breached its duty in rejecting Microsoft’s initial $31-a-share bid and in ensuing negotiations. The suit contends that the plan creates “huge incentives for a massive employee walkout,” an obstacle to any potential merger. Microsoft executives have criticized the plan as costly.
http://nytimes.com/2008/06/03/technology/03yahoo.html