Carl Icahn resigns from Yahoo board of directors

Carl Icahn, who launched a shareholder insurrection at Yahoo last year over its handling of a takeover offer from Microsoft, is leaving Yahoo's board of directors.

MarketWatch reported Friday that Icahn has informed the company he's moving on to other interests. It's been a over a year since he forced his way onto the board after expressing his displeasure at Yahoo's rejection of Microsoft's offer to acquire the company, which at one point was valued at $33 a share. Yahoo's stock closed at $17.22 on Friday.

Yahoo confirmed Icahn's departure, and said in a statement: "Carl has been an important member of our Board and has helped us through some significant transitions. We are all grateful for his active role shaping the future of Yahoo."

Icahn has recently turned his famously wandering eye to struggling financier CIT Group, offering it a $6 billion loan. In a letter to Yahoo, he said "I don't believe that it is necessary at this time to have an activist on the Board of Yahoo and currently, my attention is focused on other matters." He expressed his support for CEO Carol Bartz and the pending search deal with Microsoft, two strategic decisions that he said he was "proud to have played a role" in bringing to fruition.

"Carol is doing a great job and I believe the Microsoft transaction will provide great long term benefits, the potential of which many still do not understand," Icahn wrote in the letter. His departure leaves Yahoo with 11 board members, which will decrease again to 10 when current director Maggie Wilderotter leaves at the end of the year.