Microsoft CEO Sells More of His Stock

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has sold almost 12% of his stake in the company, the world’s largest software maker.

The sale of 2 million shares Wednesday and 4 million Thursday raised $147.1 million, Securities and Exchange Commission filings show. He sold 49.4 million shares last week. Ballmer still owns Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft’s second-biggest stake, now 415.5 million shares.

In a statement last week, Ballmer said he began selling after a 12-year pause so he could diversify his assets.

From Bloomberg News