Yahoo yesterday won an important supporter in its fight against activist investor Carl Icahn as one of the company's biggest shareholders said he expected to back the existing board at the company's annual meeting on August 1.

While not saying that a final decision had been made, Bill Miller, chief investment officer of Legg Mason, said that it was his firm's "intention" to vote its 4.4 per cent stake in Yahoo in favour of the company's existing board, rather than the alternative slate of directors being proposed by Mr Icahn.