An investment fund buys two billion in MSFT shares and unleashes speculation

Last week Microsoft presented the financial results for the third quarter of its fiscal year: the months between January and March 2013. The numbers showed the robustness of the company that maintains good revenue and profit figures , so it is not surprising that the company attracts the attention of investors But when the investment comes from a major investment fund and the number far exceeds the billion dollars cannot go unnoticed.

That has just happened with the move made by ValueAct, a major North American investment fund, which has decided to buy Microsoft shares worth 1.900 million dollars With such an amount, the fund gains a strategic position in the company, obtaining close to 1% of its shares and arousing all kinds of speculation.

After the CNBC network published the information on Twitter, other media, such as StreetInsider, began to consider the possibility that the action was aimed at gaining positions to force the retirement of Steve Ballmer as CEO of the company. It would not be the first time that an operation like this is promoted from an investment fund. In 2011, the CEO of another important fund already pointed to the need for a change in the direction of Microsoft. At that time things didn't go any further and the truth is that this time the operation seems less hostile.

A few hours after the news was published, the CEO of the investment fund, Jeffrey Ubben, announced the move at a conference for investors in New York.In it, he made it clear that his objective is not to modify Microsoft's strategy or to launch a public campaign to force changes in the company. If you expressed interest in the possibilities of expanding Office to more platforms, such as Android and iOS, as soon as possible, and in the future opportunity of cloud services.

The point is that, despite not being his intention, the operation has once again brought Steve Ballmer's position as the company's top leader to the fore. But nothing really portends a near change in direction and, for now, the only real consequence of the reversal is that Microsoft stock rose 3.6% yesterdayuntil closing the day at 30.83 dollars.

Via | Neowin | Reuters