Activist investor drops CNET proxy fight

Franklin Paul of Reuters reports Thursday that investor Jana Partners LLC has dropped its bid to gain control of online tech news provider CNET Networks board due to its pending acquisition by CBS.

Paul writes, “Jana, which owns about 10 percent of CNET voting stock, had argued that CNET was falling behind peers like Yahoo Inc. In April, a group led by Jana floated a range of proposals, including tying up with a popular online advertising platform such as Google’s Doubleclick.

“But in May, CBS offered to pay about $1.8 billion for CNET, in an effort to bolster the television broadcaster’s search across the Internet.

“‘In view of the proposed acquisition … and the likelihood that this transaction will be completed regardless of any action taken by (Jana) prior to (CNET’s) next annual meeting of stockholders, (Jana has) ceased to pursue the conduct of a proxy contest regarding the Issuer,’ Jana said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.”

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