Perlmutter Sells Entire Disney Stake After Proxy Fight Loss
Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, the former Marvel Entertainment executive, who for the last decade and a half has been one of Disney’s largest independent shareholders, has sold his entire stake.
Perlmutter banded with activist investor Nelson Peltz last year in a campaign to secure two seats on Disney’s board of directors, contributing nearly 26 million shares to Peltz’s war chest. In April, shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of Disney’s slate, effectively endorsing CEO Bob Iger and his management team while handing Peltz and Perlmutter a bruising defeat.
Perlmutter sold his entire position of 25.6 million shares in the months after the vote, according to communications with his investment adviser seen by The Wall Street Journal.
He became a major shareholder in the entertainment giant in 2009 when he sold Marvel Entertainment to Disney for more than $4 billion. At the time, Disney shares traded at $26.84. Since then, his company stock has appreciated by more than $2 billion. Perlmutter said he sold his stake between early April and mid-July at an average price of just under $115.
Perlmutter said in an interview that he sold because he doesn’t have confidence in Disney’s current management and expects the company’s share price and financial performance to decline further. If Disney’s shares decline to $65 to $75 per share, he plans to buy much of his old stake back.
Disney shares were down 3.8% in Tuesday morning trading. They are down 26% since early April, when they closed at a 52-week high of $122.82 just before the shareholder vote. Disney declined to comment.