Nelson Peltz Sells Disney Shares

Movies

Nelson Peltz is done trying to save Disney. The investor who started a proxy war with Disney CEO Bob Iger to secure board seats for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo (which he lost), has sold all of his shares in Disney, which total $1 billion. CNBC says that Disney’s stock price is around $100 a share, but Peltz sold them at $120 a share, indicating that he sold his Disney stake a while ago when it was higher than it is now. Disney’s stock price went down when Peltz lost the proxy war, lowering to $120, which is the price for which Peltz sold his shares. If the price is $100 today, Peltz’s exit caused an even bigger loss than Iger’s proxy war victory. Midnight’s Edge and Valiant Renegade have good analyses of the story.

This is pretty damning for Disney. The message Peltz is sending with this move is that Disney is beyond saving, and there’s no point in trying anymore – or, at the very least, that it’s no longer a sound investment. And that was clear for some time; Bob Iger, despite the occasional soundbite to appease the crowds, has shown no signs of backing off of his money-burning agenda. Winning the proxy war has only enabled him, a sign from the Disney shareholders that they’re fine with his woke nonsense sinking movie after movie. Peltz apparently knows a lost cause when he sees one and, after giving it the old college try and failing to make the situation better, he cut and ran before he lost money. It will be interesting to see what happens now. Peltz said at the time that he would be back; was that an empty boast, or is he planning on buying up the stock when and if it dives even further and Iger is in a worse position to defend himself? This year has Deadpool & Wolverine and Moana 2, which will probably help Disney’s stock in the short term, but next year has Captain America: Brave New World, The Fantastic 4, and Thunderbolts*. (Did you see they put an asterisk after Thunderbolts as part of the title? Is that an admission that this movie swiped the title of a comic book and team without actually adapting the story and characters?) Maybe Petlz will return after Disney is reeling from a fresh round of flops.