It was a big day for Yahoo boss Jerry Yang. With a new menace at the gates in the form of Carl Icahn's bid to wrestle control of the company away from Yang, the Yahoo co-founder blasted back at what looks like a shareholder revolt. Yang has reportedly cut a deal with advertising giant WPP and appears to be working on making permanent another agreement to partner with rival Google.

After sending an email to Yahoo employees that can only be described as an effort to rally the troops, Yang directed Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock to address the proxy fight launched by Icahn.

"[Icahn's view] reflects a significant misunderstanding of the facts about the Microsoft proposal and the diligence with which our board evaluated and responded to that proposal," Bostock wrote in a letter to the investor.

Icahn's decision to launch a proxy fight for the company was made shortly after it was reported that Microsoft had walked away from a deal that many thought was a fair price for Yahoo.

But Yang, who may still have to battle for control of Yahoo, continues to look forward. According to a report in The New York Times, Yahoo announced a deal with WPP that allows the agency and its clients broader access to Yahoo and its network of publishers.

"[The deal is] about enabling WPP's full range of agencies to buy digital display advertising across the entire internet in a much more efficient way," said Hilary Schneider, executive vice president for global partner solutions at Yahoo.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but given Yahoo's looming boardroom brawl, the deal seems vaguely reminiscent of a temporary agreement the company struck with rival Google when it looked as though Microsoft could not be turned away.

That deal, which was a two-week experiment to see if Yahoo could do better by letting Google sell ads against its search traffic, was thought to be a low priority for both companies after Microsoft walked away. But last week, news broke that both companies were still interested in pursuing a permanent agreement. Now, Reuters is reporting that Yahoo and Google are still talking, but that no deal is imminent. However, sources from both companies stressed that talks between the two had "not cooled."

Meanwhile, Yahoo continues to focus on its own product development. Most recently, the company unveiled plans for Glue, its universal search platform, which is being tested on Yahoo's India portal.