Starboard's Smith says Yahoo board 'welcoming' since his arrival

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's management team and directors have been welcoming to Starboard Value LP Chief Executive Jeffrey Smith since he joined the company's board, he said on Monday.

Smith, who was speaking on a panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference here, said Yahoo's board and management team have been "terrific" and "welcoming" to him.

The founder of the activist hedge fund is coming off a major agreement struck with Yahoo last week, in a deal in which Smith and three associates joined the Internet company's board of directors after a contentious battle that nearly went to a shareholder vote.

 

(Reporting by Michael Flaherty and Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Matthew Lewis)