14 DAY TRIAL // Steve Ballmer announced a few minutes ago that he would leave Microsoft within the next 12 months once the company’s board finds a new successor.
While this is indeed sad news for many people in the IT industry, Microsoft shares are up almost 9 percent in premarket trading. At this point, the increase reached 8.9 percent to $35.27 (€26.41).
Ballmer is yet to disclose a reason for his decision to retire, but it’s generally believed that some shareholders have been disappointed with the direction the company was heading towards, especially because sales of new products have failed to excite until now.
There’s no word on who’s coming next after Ballmer, but Microsoft is considering both internal and external candidates, with a decision to be announced in the next 12 months.