Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz sold off his full stake in Disney on Wednesday, according to multiple reports, an exit made nearly two months after Peltz and his hedge fund, Trian Fund Management, lost its renewed proxy battle against the media and entertainment conglomerate.
Peltz net worth is an estimated $1.6 billion. (Photo by: Heidi Gutman/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- Peltz’s selloff was made at market close Wednesday at $120 per share, CNBC first reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter.
- Peltz made about $1 billion on the position, according to CNBC.
- The selloff follows a high-profile proxy battle between Peltz and Disney that ended in early April after Peltz failed to secure board seats for himself and Jay Rasulo, Disney’s former chief financial officer.
- Disney, which has a market cap of $183.9 billion, closed down 1.5% on Wednesday at $100.88, continuing a nearly 9% drop the stock has had in the last three months.
- Trian still remains one of Disney’s largest institutional investors with a 1.7% stake in the company worth $3.2 billion.
- Trian declined to comment and Disney did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Peltz’s net worth at $1.6 billion, a figure primarily derived from his hedge fund.
Key Background
Peltz first launched a proxy battle against Disney early last year before shortly calling it off after the CEO Bob Igerannounced a restructuring and layoff initiative to save the company as much as $5.5 billion.
Peltz renewed the activist campaign in November, scrutinizing Disney’s earnings growth. However, following Peltz’s second campaign, Disney’s share price soared from around $92 in early December to $122 by the beginning of April. Disney has tumbled since its April highs and now trades at around $100 per share.
