Microsoft's Allen sells DreamWorks Animation stake

LOS ANGELES - Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen has sold off all of his remaining shares in DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., according to a securities filing Friday, ending his involvement in a company he helped launch more than a decade ago.

The billionaire invested $500 million in DreamWorks SKG when it launched as a combination live action and animation studio in October 1994. Allen's remaining stake was worth about $123 million, according to an Associated Press calculation, although it is unclear exactly when in 2008 he sold his shares.

Shares ranged between $20.39 and $32.73 last year.

In December 2007, Allen owned 4.6 million shares, or 18.6 percent of all Class A common shares.

Glendale-based DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind the "Shrek" and "Madagascar" franchises, went public in 2004 in large part to begin repaying Allen's investment.

Its sister company, privately held DreamWorks SKG, is still run by director Steven Spielberg, and recently signed a distribution deal with The Walt Disney Co. The live-action movie house made "Tropic Thunder" and "Transformers."

The filing said Allen and his investment fund, DW Investment II Inc., had no stake in DreamWorks Animation as of Dec. 31.

Allen had been reducing his investment in the company since at least August 2007, when he sold 10 million shares plus another tranche worth $150 million, and resigned from the board. He had about 6 million shares left after those transactions.

The stock was then trading around $30, meaning to date Allen likely made his money back plus more on his investment.

That's a stark contrast what he stands to lose on his $7 billion investment in cable TV operator Charter Communications Inc., which said Thursday that it plans to file for bankruptcy protection by April 1.

In October, DreamWorks Animation said David Geffen, who co-founded DreamWorks with Spielberg and DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, was stepping down from the board but would continue to serve as a "trusted adviser" to the company.

Katzenberg and Geffen continue to control nearly 70 percent of the voting rights in the company.

DreamWorks Animation declined to comment.

Vulcan Inc., the umbrella company for Allen's ventures, including real estate, technology companies and his holdings in the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association and the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks, declined to comment on his behalf.

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Technology Writer Jessica Mintz in Seattle contributed to this report.

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