subject: Microsoft Steve Ballmer Sold $1.3 Billion Shares [print this page] Microsoft Steve Ballmer Sold $1.3 Billion Shares
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Steve Ballmer sold $1.3 million shares of the company, reducing its stake to about 12 percent but said its first sellout in seven years should not be taken as a lack of confidence in the world's largest enterprise software. Steve Ballmer has said he will sell more units at the end of the year in order to diversify its investments and in terms of taxes, but the company tried to dampen talk that the 54-year employee, who has been CEO since 2000 may be preparing an exit from the company. "While this is a personal financial matter, I would like to make it clear that to avoid any misunderstanding," Ballmer said in a statement the company's website. "I am excited about new products and opportunities of our technology to change people's lives, and I remain fully committed to Microsoft and its success." Ballmer, who was the first Business Manager at Microsoft, where he joined in 1980, showed no interest to resign or leave the company, despite the criticism from Wall Street on the remaining shares of companies that are listed at the same level as in 2002. According to the submission to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Ballmer sold 49.3 million shares of Microsoft for the past three days, at prices slightly above and below $ 27 per share. Ballmer said he planned to sell up to 75 million shares at the end of this year. If it does not sell that many shares, it would mean a reduction of 18 percent in the game Ballmer, based on 408 million shares he held before the sale within days.
