Microsoft Boosts Size of Stock Offering

Microsoft Corp. increased the size of its preferred stock offering to $1 billion from $750 million, signaling high investor demand for the new income-yielding stock. The Redmond, Wash., software giant registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell an additional $137.5 million worth of the preferred shares based on a preferred share price of $79.875. The price was determined by the closing price of the common shares on Nasdaq. The increase in the size of the offering was a result of the company’s attempt to meet investor demand for the preferred stock, said Carla Lewis, the company’s director of investor relations. The new offering size means Microsoft will sell about 12.5 million preferred shares in the offering.