Former Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter has sold his entire stake in The Walt Disney Company. This comes after Perlmutter and Nelson Peltz failed in efforts to get Peltz and former Disney executive Jay Rasulo seats on Disney’s Board of Directors. Perlmutter had pledged his shares to help push the efforts of Peltz in this proxy battle that was ultimately unsuccessful. Peltz had already divested from The Walt Disney Company. Now it has been learned that Perlmutter did the same.
Perlmutter sold his entire stake of 25.6 million Disney shares. The news comes from The Wall Street Journal. He sold his stake earlier this spring between early April and mid-July. The average price for the stock he sold was approximately $115. Perlmutter told The Wall Street Journal that he sold his stake because he didn’t have confidence in management. He did say he might purchase Disney stock once again if the stock price falls to $65-$75.
Perlmutter backed up both of Peltz’s proxy fights agains The Walt Disney Company. He had accumulated the Disney stock when he sold Marvel to Disney in 2009 for more than $4 billion. In the years that followed, the relationship with Disney CEO Bob Iger soured. This reached a new level upon Iger’s return to the role of Disney CEO in 2022. At this point, he was forced to make massive cuts throughout the company as Peltz pushed for reform for the company. Perlmutter was impacted by some of the staffing cuts.
“Ike and Nelson were working together to try to encourage the board or convince the board to put Nelson on the board,” Iger said at the time. “They have a relationship that dates back quite some time. We bought Marvel in 2009. I promised Ike the job that he would continue to run Marvel after that. Not forever, necessarily.”
With the sale of these shares, it appears that for the near future that Disney will not be dealing with any proxy fights from Nelson Peltz or his Trian Group. This comes as Disney looks to build to the future, find its next CEO, and supercharge its Disney Experiences segment.
What do you think of Ike Perlmutter selling off his Disney stock? Do you think it is a good move for the future of Disney? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
