Hedge fund star calls for Microsoft's Ballmer to go (Reuters)

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 5:01 PM By dwi

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Influential inclose fund manager David Einhorn has titled for Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to travel down, locution the world's maximal software company's long-time cheater is cragfast in the past.

Microsoft, which was the maximal U.S. consort by mart continuance in the New 1990s, has seen its hit defence still for the instance 10 eld as it failed to move newborn Internet and mobile technology markets, surrendering activity of the school facet to Apple Inc.

Microsoft shares effort up 0.87 proportionality in after-hours trading, the most of some Dow Jones industrialized average component.

Many hit been privately grave of Ballmer, but Einhorn's remarks are the most pointed yet from a high-profile investor.

Einhorn's Greenlight Capital inclose fund has been a time buyer of Microsoft stock, which at under 10 times due earnings is regarded by many as undervalued.

Greenlight currently holds most 9 meg shares in Microsoft, or 0.11 proportionality of the company's outstanding shares, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Speaking at the annual Ira Sohn Investment Research Conference in New York on Wednesday, Einhorn said it was instance for Ballmer -- who succeeded co-founder Bill enterpriser in 2000 -- to travel aside and "give someone else a chance."

"His continuing presence is the large overhang on Microsoft's stock," he said.

On Tuesday, Microsoft was overtaken by IBM in mart continuance for the first instance in 15 years, mainly because of its noise shares. Apple roared instance it terminal year to embellish the world's most valuable school company.

An investor who put $100,000 into Microsoft hit 10 eld ago would now hit most $69,000 worth.

Einhorn, the president of Greenlight Capital, which had $7.8 billion of assets as of Jan 1, first rose to prominence for making a prescient call on Lehman Brothers' business troubles before the bank's ensuant collapse.

Shares of Microsoft edged up 0.87 proportionality to $24.40 in afterhours change from a regular-session near of $24.19.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby, Svea Herbst and Edwin Chan; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Lisa Shumaker)


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