10 posts and columns on Ron Burkle

Sean Parker, Music Mogul? Facebook Billionaire Mulling Warner Music Bid

in Media on March 11, 2011 at 4:48 pm PT

More than a decade ago, Sean Parker helped create Napster, which kicked off the long and steep decline of the big music labels. Soon he might own part of one.

Burkle to Leave Yahoo Board–Is Bartz Solidifying Control (And Is Bostock Next)?

in News on February 16, 2010 at 1:53 pm PT

Like victims in the thriller, “Ten Little Indians,” the directors of Yahoo involved in its Microsoft takeover debacle are moving off its board. Today, it’s billionaire businessman Ron Burkle doing the leaving, after serving since 2001, when he was brought onto the Internet giant’s board by former CEO Terry Semel. He’s the third director to depart since CEO Carol Bartz took over a little more than a year ago.

Liveblogging the 2009 Yahoo Annual Meeting: Carol-tastic!

in News on June 25, 2009 at 10:18 am PT

BoomTown is at the lovely Santa Clara Marriott in Silicon Valley at the 2009 Yahoo annual meeting, liveblogging the event, which should be spectacularly dull. Here is a rundown of what went on. 10:05 am: The meeting kicks off with a little video presentation with various and sundry television talking heads saying “Yahoo” in quick succession. Actually, this was the year during which all of those hype-magnets repeated “Twitter” so many times that it has began to make my ears bleed. But I like the spirit of trying to make Yahoo seem relevant and innovative again.
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Glass Lewis Half Empty

in News on July 24, 2008 at 8:28 am PT

Differences of opinion make the financial markets go round. And it would appear that we have some strong ones among the proxy services advising Yahoo shareholders on how to vote at the upcoming election of Yahoo’s board members.

When Will Microsoft Bust A(nother) Move?

in News on July 23, 2008 at 1:12 am PT

Is Microsoft about to make another move on Yahoo? Or perhaps on AOL? Or is it just getting ready to articulate strategic plans for getting serious about the online search business on its own at its financial analysts’ meeting tomorrow morning? Or perhaps–and this might be the best strategy for the moment–the software giant is actually managing to stifle itself and wait to return to the playing field when things settle down a little bit.

Major Yahoo Investor Leans Toward Backing Carl Icahn Too

in News on July 7, 2008 at 9:46 am PT

Microsoft’s not the only one backing billionaire investor Carl Icahn in his quest to unseat Yahoo’s leadership and board–major Yahoo investor Gordon Crawford told Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang in a face-to-face meeting last week that he was seriously considering voting against Yahoo in the looming proxy fight. The troubled meeting that took place last Tuesday in Los Angeles between Capital Research Global Investors’ Crawford and Yang–accompanied by three Yahoo board members–could be seen as a portent of what is to come at the company’s annual meeting on August 1. And those signs are definitely not good for Yahoo’s current leaders.

MicroHoo Back From the Dead? Dream On, Jerry!

in News on July 2, 2008 at 10:37 am PT

Like the zombies in “Night of the Living Dead” who will not die, the notion of a big, sloppy deal for Microsoft to buy Yahoo is revived yet again in an article in The Wall Street Journal today. Unfortunately for both Yahoo and Microsoft, it mostly serves to point out once again just how messy and pathetic the proceedings have been and continues to be. But, as to the central idea, that Microsoft is aching to do a multi-part deal with various partners that would render Yahoo asunder, BoomTown is altogether dubious that this will ever come to pass.

Yahoo: Rest in Pieces

in News on July 2, 2008 at 5:30 am PT

Much as Yahoo would like to believe otherwise, Microsoft’s not done with the company yet. It’s circled back for another run at Yahoo and, if it’s successful, it will seize Yahoo’s search business and sell the rest of the company off for parts.

Yahoo Players Burkle, Icahn, Crawford and Also the Web Make Some News (Some, Not So Good)

in News on June 4, 2008 at 6:06 am PT

You would have to have been under a rock not to have heard about the controversial piece in Vanity Fair magazine this month about the troubling personal and professional escapades of former President Bill Clinton since he left office. And the reason for these disturbing developments, besides Clinton himself? The piece actually placed a good bit of the blame on Clinton’s close friend, grocery magnate and billionaire Ron Burkle, who also has been one of the key directors at Yahoo in its takeover fight with Microsoft.
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Say Hello to the Yahoo Board Members

in News on January 28, 2008 at 12:58 am PT

One of the most overlooked parts of Web companies are their board members, so I think it is time to start looking more carefully at those firms where the role of directors is going to be increasingly important in 2008. First stop, obviously, is Yahoo, which reports its fourth quarter and also full year earnings (and also perhaps some board-approved layoffs) tomorrow after the markets close. With everything from consistently persistent takeover rumors, a still-lagging stock price and continued scrutiny on its moves to revive itself, the company’s managers and–it must be assumed–its directors obviously face challenges in the year ahead.