Ballmer's Sweet $1.3B Sellout

[Moritz Dispatch]

Scott Moritz
11/08/10 - 01:06 PM EST

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is the rare chief executive that doesn't
usually shrink from embarrassing situations and occasionally even
throws himself into the spotlight.

But when it comes to unloading a billion or two worth of shares,
Ballmer took the quiet route, announcing late Friday that he was
looking to cash in $2 billion worth of Microsoft stock.

The fact that the move came Friday was telling. But the fact that a
standup guy like Ballmer picked a Friday seemed uncharacteristically
timid.

Releasing bad news on the eve of a weekend when the market's attention
starts to drifts a bit is a slightly shady move. Not only does it
shield the stock from any immediate pressure, it attempts to protect
the subject from the harsh media spotlight.

In a brief statement late Friday, Ballmer said he "plans to sell up to
75 million shares by year-end" as a personal finance matter to help
him with "financial diversification and to assist in tax planning."
According to an SEC filing Friday, he unloaded 49.3 million shares for
a staggering $1.33 billion in cash.


One source calls this probably the largest insider sale ever. It is
hard to recall anything nearly as high:
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10914870/1/ballmers-sweet-sellout-tech-edge.html