NEW YORK—Billionaire investor Carl Icahn's feud for control of Yahoo Inc. may push the Internet portal back into the arms of previously spurned Microsoft Corp., an analyst said late Thursday.
Icahn said earlier this week that he will use his 4.3 percent stake in the Sunnyvale, Calif., company to push for a new board of directors at the July 3 annual meeting.
Yahoo's rejection of Microsoft's takeover efforts earlier this year enraged Icahn, who labeled the board "irresponsible" and wants to resume talks with the software giant.
In a response to Icahn, Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said "it is not in the best interest of Yahoo shareholders" to let Icahn's "hand-picked nominees" control the company and try to push a deal with Microsoft, which has publicly stated it is no longer interested in Yahoo.
Yet Goldman Sachs analyst James Mitchell said Icahn's move, and the likely reaction from other current shareholders, may lead the existing board to start up talks again with Microsoft.
"Microsoft's rhetoric is that it neither needs nor particularly desires Yahoo, but we believe ... it is in Microsoft's interests to dismiss talk of an acquisition even if an acquisition remains its ultimate ambition," Mitchell said in a note to clients.
He rates shares of Yahoo "Neutral" with a $26 price target, implying he expects the stock to drop about 6 percent from Thursday's $27.75 close.
Shares of Yahoo fell 18 cents to $27.57 in premarket trading.
