Yahoo board adds Icahn nominees Chapple, Biondi

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) said on Thursday it had appointed former Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) CEO Frank Biondi and former Nextel Partners CEO John Chapple to its board as part of a settlement with investor Carl Icahn.

Yahoo settled its proxy fight with Icahn ahead of its August 1 shareholder meeting. The billionaire had become involved in Yahoo after this year's failed takeover bid by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O).

As part of the deal, the Internet company agreed to appoint Icahn to its nine-member board and add two new directors from Icahn's list of nominees, which included Biondi and Chapple.

"Frank's extensive experience in the entertainment and media industries, combined with John's deep management experience in telecommunications, will provide valuable perspectives to our already diverse board," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement.

Separately on Thursday, Icahn Capital disclosed it owned 55 million Yahoo shares as of June 30, about 4 percent of Yahoo's 1.4 billion total outstanding stock. Icahn began amassing Yahoo shares during the on-again, off-again talks with Microsoft.

Icahn had originally sought to replace the entire Yahoo board with his nominees and oust Chief Executive Jerry Yang, but eventually struck a compromise.

(Reporting by Anupreeta Das; Editing by Braden Reddall)