Jerry Yang, the co-founder and chief executive of Yahoo! might have thought he could have put the search engine’s controversial annual meeting behind him at the end of last week.

However, last night it emerged that Capital Research Global, one of the group’s biggest shareholders, has demanded a recount for the number of investors who voted against the re-election of Mr Yang.

It is believed that a number of powerful shareholders, including Carl Icahn, the billionaire who this week takes a seat on the board, believe Mr Yang is the wrong man for the job.

The demand for a recount came as Mr Icahn, the billionaire corporate raider seeking to force a sale of Yahoo!, became the target of a raid himself after rejecting a $4.5 billion (£2.3 billion) takeover offer for his drugs company ImClone.

Mr Icahn, chairman of the cancer drug company, said yesterday that he and the board had rejected the buyout offer from Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharmaceuticals giant, because the approach was too low. Bristol-Myers had offered to buy ImClone, which is developing a cancer treatment called Erbitux, for $60 a share, representing a 30 per cent premium to ImClone stock before the approach was made.

Mr Icahn, who is one of ImClone’s biggest shareholders, was appointed to the board two years ago after a proxy fight that led to the departure of Joseph Fischer, the chief executive. Mr Icahn became chairman, ousted another four directors and appointed his own chief executive.

Yesterday, ImClone rejected the offer from Bristol-Myers.ImClone said that while it had formed a committee to evaluate the offer, it was considering splitting the company into two. It also said that Mr Icahn was “disturbed” that Bristol-Myers may have known about confidential proposals to divide ImClone through a board director who acted as an intermediary with Bristol-Myers over the cancer drug. Bristol-Myers denied Mr Icahn’s claims.

Shares in ImClone were barely changed at $65.03, well above the Bristol-Myers $60 offer.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive