Microsoft Co-Founder Bows Out of DreamWorks Animation

Paul Allen, the founder of Microsoft who departed day to day management of that company way before Bill Gates did, has now picked up his chips from the DreamWorks Animation table and moved on:

Paul Allen is continuing to cash out from Hollywood, selling some 15 million of his remaining shares in DreamWorks Animation in a move that's triggered his resignation from the toon studio's board of directors.

Long back, I heard from DreamWorks's execs that Mr. Allen, one of the studio's biggest financial backers in its early days, was looking to cash out of DreamWorks when the time was right.

The stars aligned when the live action part of DW was sold to Viacom. At that point, Allen got a large chunk of his investment back. And now the timing is right for another draw down:

Sale comes as DreamWorks Animation stock has recently hovered around $33 in the wake of "Shrek the Third's" success. Shares haven't been that high since early 2005, soon after the company's IPO.