Microsoft dumps Comcast shares

MICROSOFT HAS sold off its entire stake in cable operator, Comcast, according to an SEC filing. The vole flogged its 7.3 per cent stake in Comcast Class A common stock sometime in 2008.

The Redmond giant had owned 150,935,575 shares in the firm, after making an initial $1 billion investment in Comcast in June 1997. Mighty-Soft had also owned 21.6 million shares of Comcast's Special Class A shares.

Comcast has actually done a fair bit better than its competitors throughout the credit crunch, with its shares falling only 15.7 per cent in the last year, compared to the 39.6 per cent average.

But analysts reason Microsoft may have opted out of the cable operator in order to fund an ill-fated bid for Yahoo or to offset losses in other investments, like mortgage-backed securities.

Comcast shares took a hit yesterday, dropping 82 cents, or 5.4 per cent, to $14.51. µ