Yahoo could name the new members of its board as early as Friday, in a bid to appease investor Carl Icahn and avoid a proxy battle, according to reports.

The portal giant is currently finalising the appointment of former Viacom chief executive Frank Biondi and ex-Nextel Partners chief executive John Chapple.

As part of the deal Yahoo brokered with Icahn, the firm agreed to expand its board to include Icahn and two new directors from a list of nine people Icahn recommended.

Icahn had originally threatened to replace the entire board with his own nominees, at a shareholder meeting on 1 August.

At the same meeting there was bad news for Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock and chief executive Jerry Yang, who received support from only 60 per cent and 66 per cent of Yahoo shareholder votes cast respectively.