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Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang doesn't want to see another Bradley Horowitz go. So, to stop key talent from heading out the door, Yahoo plans to stuff a few coat pockets with fat new retention packages, Kara Swisher reports. Along with more cash, these packages will include a change-in-control clause that bloats the severance pay a new owner would have to pay to lay off these employees.

It's a cute trick that scores Yang two points. One, he gets to keep more talent and two, the change-in-control clause works as a mild poison pill to increase the cost of a Microsoft-Yahoo merger, potentially making it less appealing to Microsoft shareholders. Of course, it's also also the kind of move that might further anger Yahoo shareholders eager to sell the company and be done with it.