Icahn supporters buy Yahoo shares

Mr Pickens said that he was backing Mr Icahn's proxy battle

Supporters of Carl Icahn's battle to replace the board of Yahoo have been buying up shares in the search engine and online advertising firm.

The oil investor T Boone Pickens told the broadcaster CNBC that he had bought 10 million shares in Yahoo.

Third Point, a hedge fund led by the activist investor Dan Loeb, has bought more than five million shares, according to the Reuters news agency.

Mr Icahn opposes the Yahoo board's rejection of a takeover by Microsoft.

Last week, hedge fund Paulson announced that it had built up a holding of 50 million Yahoo shares and supports Mr Icahn.

His supporters are currently reported to have built up a total of 80 million shares, which is more than 5% of the company, and Mr Icahn himself has an option to buy another 49 million shares.

Yahoo rejected Microsoft's offer to buy it for $47.5bn (£24.1bn) or $33 per share, but Microsoft announced on Sunday that it was discussing a deal with Yahoo that would not involve a buyout of the company.