Icahn supporters buy Yahoo shares

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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.