AllThingsD » investment firm

Amazon: Legg Mason Sharply Reduces Stake

Eric Savitz — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:07:31 +0000

Slowly but surely, Legg Mason has been easing out of its once gigantic stake in Amazon.com (AMZN), formerly a favorite stock of Legg Mason portfolio manager Bill Miller.

In a filing with the SEC yesterday, Legg disclosed that it now holds 9,592,126 Amazon shares, down from 24,280,422 shares in its previous filing in October. The latest sales reduce Legg Mason’s stake to 2.24 percent of Amazon’s outstanding shares.

The investment firm has been gradually paring back its shares over the last two years.

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Splitsville

John Paczkowski — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:00:17 +0000

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Absolutely Fabless

John Paczkowski — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:11:30 +0000

If it’s true that “real men have fabs,” as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Chairman W. J. “Jerry” Sanders III (at right in Indiana Jones drag) once said, then AMD is the semiconductor industry’s latest eunuch. This morning the chipmaker said it will spin off its manufacturing operations, splitting itself into two companies–one to design chips and one to make them. The new manufacturing company, called Foundry Co., will be a joint venture between AMD and two Abu Dhabi investment firms–Mubadala Development Co. and Advanced Technology Investment Co.–that have agreed to provide it with some $6 billion in financing to build a new chip fabrication plant, or fab, in upstate New York and upgrade one of two AMD fabs near Dresden, Germany.

A bold move for AMD (AMD), which has sustained seven straight quarters of losses, and one that could dramatically alter its fortunes. Indeed, right off the bat, AMD will push $1.2 billion in debt off its books and onto those of the The Foundry Co. “This is the biggest announcement in our history” said CEO chief executive, Dirk Meyer. “This will make us a financially stronger company, both in the near term and in the long term, as a result of being out from the capital expense burden we have had to bear.”