P.M. BRIEFING : Apple to Sell Adobe Systems Stock

Apple Computer Inc. said today it will sell its interest in Adobe Systems Inc. to take advantage of the large rise in the software company’s stock and because Apple has embarked on a route that will compete with Adobe.

Apple owns 3,423,792 shares of Adobe, representing about 16.4% of the company’s outstanding shares. It is Adobe’s largest shareholder. Apple bought the shares in November, 1984, for about $2.5 million in connection with a product development arrangement between the companies. The shares are now worth about $91 million, Apple said.

Adobe’s shares took the news hard, falling $2.875 to $23.75 on the over-the-counter market. Apple Computer was unchanged at $40.50.

The shares will be sold to Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Hambrecht & Quist Inc. for resale to the public.

On May 9, Apple announced plans to develop font software--used for printing documents--that it expects to be included in the next major release of Apple’s Macintosh System Software.