Buyout Firms Cut Stake in Seagate Technology

Silver Lake Partners, Texas Pacific Group and other buyout firms that are the largest shareholders of Seagate Technology Inc. cut their stake in the company Thursday by 13.7%, selling $1.12 billion worth of shares.

The firms sold as many as 60 million shares in Seagate at $18.75 each. The stock closed Thursday at $18.93, down 57 cents, in New York Stock Exchange trading.

The group invested $1.1 billion in Seagate -- which is based in the Cayman Islands and run from Scotts Valley, Calif. -- near the peak of the bull market and took the company public in December 2002.

After the sale, the firms will hold a 66.4% stake in the computer disk drive maker, according to a regulatory filing.

Silver Lake’s partners include Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee, former Oracle Corp. executive David Roux and investment banker Jim Davidson, along with Glenn Hutchins, formerly of Blackstone Group.