A group of investors in Microsoft, led by company co-founder Paul Allen, have called on Steve Ballmer's replacement as CEO to spin-off the entertainment and consumer business of the company – including the Xbox gaming section.
Allen has a $2 billion stake in the firm which he founded in 1975 with former CEO and current chairman Bill Gates. Paul Ghaffari, who manages Allen's $15 billion tech investment portfolio, said he was "intrigued and interested" in changes being made at Redmond.
Speaking to the Financial Times Ghaffari commented that Microsoft should split up in order to focus on its core products and services:
“The search business and even Xbox, which has been a very successful product, are detracting from that. We would want them to focus on their best competencies.
“My view is there are some parts of that operation they should probably spin out, get rid of, to focus on the enterprise and focus on the cloud."
He added that Microsoft's board has shown a new “receptivity to getting outside views" during the search to replace Ballmer who will retire next year. Ghaffari went on to say that he believe the process is being handled well by the board.
Last year, Yahoo! Finance said Microsoft could no longer afford to keep the Xbox division.
Sony investors have also called on that company to spin off its gaming division this year but have been rebuked as a result of CEO Kaz Hirai's bid to create 'One Sony'.
Following Sony's recent profit warning, the company pinned its hopes on the PS4 making a spin-off even less likely. A new CEO of Microsoft may however choose a different path for Xbox.
