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Ted Turner, the vice chairman and largest individual shareholder of AOL Time Warner Inc., says he has sold about 60 million shares, more than half of his holdings in the company, for $789 million. People close to Turner said the sale, disclosed Monday, reflected a growing disenchantment with the company's prospects. He effectively capitulated to the 70 percent decline in the share price over the last two years, apparently having given up hope of a significant rebound soon. But it was unclear why he unloaded such a large stake now. People involved in the transaction said Turner had sold the shares to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which is seeking to resell them to institutional investors. The news that such a large block of shares would be hitting the market was expected to hurt share prices, which were down 12 cents to $13.26 in late trading on Tuesday. Relations appear to be thawing between Turner, whose remaining 45 million shares still make him the biggest individual shareholder, and Stephen Case, who is to resign as chairman at the company's annual meeting next week under pressure from Turner and other major shareholders. In a statement, Turner said he ''remains supportive of management and has voted in line with management's recommendations on every item scheduled for vote'' at the meeting, including the re-election of Case as a director. Turner is resigning as vice chairman, but he confirmed that he would remain a director. Two people close to him said he had felt obligated to stay on the board, in part because few of the other directors have much experience in the media business. People close to Turner say he alternates between warm feelings for Richard Parsons, the company's chief executive, and frustration at what he considers poor management. Turner's sale basically ends what had been a long, painful process of selling his shares at depressed or falling prices. He said he was stopping a previous plan to periodically sell chunks of his stock to meet charitable pledges. Those steady sales helped contain the share price, and some analysts said his decision to finish them with a big sale might remove at least one burden from the share price. ''From an AOL shareholder perspective, it is nice to see an orderly sale process as opposed to the daily drip of a million share blocks,'' said Jordan Rohan, an analyst at SoundView Technology. Turner transferred about 10 million shares to a charitable trust before they were sold. All of the shares were sold together to Goldman Sachs at nearly $13.15 a share, a discount to the Monday closing price of $13.38. Goldman Sachs had been seeking to sell the shares for about $13.15, people involved in the sale saidGoldman Sachs declined to comment. The share price has recently rebounded from a low of about $10 Turner did not specify his plans for the cash he raised, but people close to him said that he did not intend to try to buy back any of his former businesses. Instead, Turner is expected to remain in effect a back-seat driver. Associates say he complains about AOL Time Warner's efforts to sell businesses to reduce debt. He is disappointed that AOL is seeking to sell the three Atlanta sports teams, including the Braves baseball team, which Turner once owned, they said. And he has been particularly critical of discussions on selling its winter-sports teams, the Hawks in the National Basketball Association and the Thrashers in the National Hockey League, separately from the Braves and the Turner South regional cable channel. People close to Turner said he thought the teams and channel would be worth more together. AOL Time Warner is negotiating to sell the winter teams to David McDavid, an owner of car dealerships in Texas. A person close to Turner said he had no interest in buying back control of the teams. Turner has plenty of other uses for his money, including philanthropic promises to the United Nations and other organizations, an expanding chain of buffalo-meat restaurants and a film company. Over the last year, Turner has expressed bitterness over AOL's acquisition of Time Warner, sometimes publicly berating himself for leaving so much of his wealth in one company.Turner's friends say he has been furious about accusations of improper accounting at AOL before the merger, raising the possibility that the company had misled Time Warner shareholders about its financial health. Now AOL Time Warner faces federal investigations into accounting, mainly at the AOL unit, before and after the merger. It also faces the possibility of shareholder lawsuits contending that AOL defrauded Time Warner shareholders.
Ted Turner, the vice chairman and largest individual shareholder of AOL Time Warner Inc., says he has sold about 60 million shares, more than half of his holdings in the company, for $789 million. People close to Turner said the sale, disclosed Monday, reflected a growing disenchantment with the company's prospects. He effectively capitulated to the 70 percent decline in the share price over the last two years, apparently having given up hope of a significant rebound soon. But it was unclear why he unloaded such a large stake now. People involved in the transaction said Turner had sold the shares to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which is seeking to resell them to institutional investors. The news that such a large block of shares would be hitting the market was expected to hurt share prices, which were down 12 cents to $13.26 in late trading on Tuesday. Relations appear to be thawing between Turner, whose remaining 45 million shares still make him the biggest individual shareholder, and Stephen Case, who is to resign as chairman at the company's annual meeting next week under pressure from Turner and other major shareholders. In a statement, Turner said he ''remains supportive of management and has voted in line with management's recommendations on every item scheduled for vote'' at the meeting, including the re-election of Case as a director. Turner is resigning as vice chairman, but he confirmed that he would remain a director. Two people close to him said he had felt obligated to stay on the board, in part because few of the other directors have much experience in the media business. People close to Turner say he alternates between warm feelings for Richard Parsons, the company's chief executive, and frustration at what he considers poor management. Turner's sale basically ends what had been a long, painful process of selling his shares at depressed or falling prices. He said he was stopping a previous plan to periodically sell chunks of his stock to meet charitable pledges. Those steady sales helped contain the share price, and some analysts said his decision to finish them with a big sale might remove at least one burden from the share price. ''From an AOL shareholder perspective, it is nice to see an orderly sale process as opposed to the daily drip of a million share blocks,'' said Jordan Rohan, an analyst at SoundView Technology. Turner transferred about 10 million shares to a charitable trust before they were sold. All of the shares were sold together to Goldman Sachs at nearly $13.15 a share, a discount to the Monday closing price of $13.38. Goldman Sachs had been seeking to sell the shares for about $13.15, people involved in the sale saidGoldman Sachs declined to comment. The share price has recently rebounded from a low of about $10 Turner did not specify his plans for the cash he raised, but people close to him said that he did not intend to try to buy back any of his former businesses. Instead, Turner is expected to remain in effect a back-seat driver. Associates say he complains about AOL Time Warner's efforts to sell businesses to reduce debt. He is disappointed that AOL is seeking to sell the three Atlanta sports teams, including the Braves baseball team, which Turner once owned, they said. And he has been particularly critical of discussions on selling its winter-sports teams, the Hawks in the National Basketball Association and the Thrashers in the National Hockey League, separately from the Braves and the Turner South regional cable channel. People close to Turner said he thought the teams and channel would be worth more together. AOL Time Warner is negotiating to sell the winter teams to David McDavid, an owner of car dealerships in Texas. A person close to Turner said he had no interest in buying back control of the teams. Turner has plenty of other uses for his money, including philanthropic promises to the United Nations and other organizations, an expanding chain of buffalo-meat restaurants and a film company. Over the last year, Turner has expressed bitterness over AOL's acquisition of Time Warner, sometimes publicly berating himself for leaving so much of his wealth in one company.Turner's friends say he has been furious about accusations of improper accounting at AOL before the merger, raising the possibility that the company had misled Time Warner shareholders about its financial health. Now AOL Time Warner faces federal investigations into accounting, mainly at the AOL unit, before and after the merger. It also faces the possibility of shareholder lawsuits contending that AOL defrauded Time Warner shareholders.
