Another Miss for a Microsoft Co-Founder
Paul Allen’s spotty investing history just got a littler spottier, with a deal to sell set-top-box maker Digeo to cable-equipment provider Arris Group for $20 million.
The Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder is the primary shareholder in Digeo, a closely held Kirkland, Wash., maker of digital video recorders that has struggled with sales of its products and laid off about half of its staff last year. Digeo won’t say how much money it has raised, but a report from 2002 says the company took a $110 million investment at the time. Mr. Allen’s portion of that investment wasn’t disclosed, nor would a spokesman for Mr. Allen comment on how much he had invested in the company, but it seems safe to say he took a bath on his Digeo investment.
