Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has announced his upcoming retirement after a 1% shareholder in the company, ValueAct, made it clear shareholders are ready for him to step down.
Ballmer’s retirement announcement has caused Microsoft shares to rise throughout the day, but there is another piece of business one analyst believes ValueAct will be pushing once it claims a spot on Microsoft’s board of directors: the sale of the Xbox division.
Analyst Rick Sherlund believes ValueAct is looking to make some big changes at Microsoft to turn around what has been a bad year for the company. On July 19th, Microsoft shares closed at nearly 12% down, something that has not happened since 2000 to 2001. With Windows 8 and Surface tablet sales not living up to expectations, something needs to give.
Sherlund believes ValueAct will be making a move to sell off the company’s Xbox division once it claims a space on the board of directors, stating:
“Xbox is cool, but by our estimates Microsoft has not made money at this.”
Had Ballmer not announced his retirement a mere day after ValueAct’s intentions were made public, this would be a tad less worrying.
Steve Ballmer will be retiring from his position as Microsoft CEO within the next 12 months, once a successor has been chosen.
