Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz is now $1 billion richer after completely wiping his hands clean of a bitter proxy battle.
Peltz, who owns Trian Fund Management, just sold his entire stake in Disney for $120 per share, adding an extra $1 billion to his piggy bank, according to a new report from CNBC. Disney’s stock is currently selling for roughly $100 per share.
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“With news that Nelson Peltz has jettisoned his position the shares have traded down to $100/share,” wrote Doug Kass for TheStreet Pro. “In the general market correction I expect a decline in Disney's shares into the low $90s is a growing possibility.”
The move from Peltz comes after Disney shareholders voted last month to reject his request for multiple seats on Disney’s board of directors after he claimed that the company was “in crisis.”
Before the vote, his company, Trian Fund Management, even launched a campaign early last year called “Restore the Magic,” where it claimed that “Disney has lost its way over the past decade” and that “the root cause of Disney’s underperformance is a Board that lacks focus, alignment, and accountability.”
Peltz was also very outspoken about his distaste for Disney’s “woke” messaging in its recent movies and TV shows.
“People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained,” said Peltz in an interview with the Financial Times in March. “They don’t go to get a message.”
Disney was against Peltz joining its board, and it pushed shareholders to not elect him due to his lack of skills and experience in media.
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Peltz had controlled a significant amount of shares in Disney. In October, Marvel Chair Ike Perlmutter granted Peltz voting rights of his 25 million Disney shares, resulting in Trian Fund Management’s stake in Disney to increase to about 33 million shares.
When Disney rejected Peltz’s request to join the board last month, the company claimed that it was “eager” to move forward with other priorities.
“With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we’re eager to focus 100 percent of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger in a press release.
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