Activist Investor Nelson Peltz Sells Entire Disney Stake For $1B After Losing Proxy Battle (UPDATED)

Editor’s Note: The article has been updated with a response from Trian Partners.

Activist investor Nelson Peltz has divested his entire stake in Disney DIS at approximately $120 each, netting around $1 billion.

What Happened: The sale follows a recent proxy battle loss for Peltz’s Trian Partners in early April, where Disney shareholders re-elected the company’s full board slate. Peltz had aimed to join the board alongside former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo, CNBC reported on Wednesday.

Peltz has been critical of Disney’s governance, particularly its streaming strategy and CEO succession plan. In October, he increased his stake to about 30 million shares and reignited his proxy campaign.

Disney has yet to respond to the queries sent by Benzinga while a spokesperson from Trian Partners declined to comment.

Why It Matters: The proxy battle between Peltz and Disney has been a significant event in the corporate world. In early April, Peltz’s Trian Partners lost the proxy fight, which led to a $300 million payday for Peltz but was seen by experts as “a grand waste of time.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger commented that Peltz “didn’t bring any new ideas” to the table following the proxy fight win.

Peltz’s divestment comes on the heels of the exit of a senior Disney executive Lisa Valentino, who was responsible for Disney’s Advertising Sales.

Price Action: Disney stock closed 1.52% lower at $100.88 on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro. Its shares have risen about 11% this year, slightly outperforming the S&P 500.

Image via Shutterstock

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari

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