UPDATE: Advanced Micro Devices Shrs Fall As Two Execs Depart
(Updated throughout to include the departure of a second
executive, Victor Peng.) By Rebecca Townsend Of DOW
JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)-- Advanced Micro
Devices Inc . (AMD) shares fell 4.1% Friday as two more
executives resigned, both of whom came from the company's
purchase of ATI Technologies Inc. Victor Peng and Vijay
Sharma, a pair of executives within AMD's graphics chip
department, announced their departures Friday but declined to
reveal their future plans. The two departures were not related
and came as AMD announced several promotions within the graphics
chip division. Peng was a corporate vice president, while
Sharma was a director of product marketing. The resignations
follow the departures of other AMD executives within the past
eight months. Former executive vice president Dave Orton left in
July, followed by Henri Richard, who resigned as executive vice
president and chief sales and marketing officer in August, and
then Rick Hegberg, who announced in September his plans to leave
as senior vice president of worldwide sales. Both Peng and
Sharma came to AMD as part of the company's $5.4 billion purchase
of ATI, a Canadian company best known for chips used to manage
graphics. The 2006 deal was controversial on Wall Street, in
part because of the debt AMD needed to complete it.
Acquisition-related charges from the deal have contributed to a
string of five straight quarterly losses, including a $1.8
billion loss in the fourth quarter. AMD shares, which traded
as low as $5.76 Friday, ended the regular session at $5.91, its
lowest close since Jan. 9. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has
traded between $5.31 and $16.19. -By Rebecca Townsend, Dow
Jones Newswires; 201-938-5174, rebecca.townsend@dowjones.com
(George Stahl contributed to this report.) (END) Dow Jones
Newswires 03-28-08 1754ET Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones &
Company,
Inc.
5:55 pm March 28, 2008, Dow Jones
