Although billionaire investor Nelson Peltz may have lost the battle for a seat on Disney's board in April, he just scored a financial victory by selling all of his Disney stock.
Peltz, the 81-year-old founder of the multibillion-dollar hedge fund Trian Partnershas made $1 billion by selling its shares in Disney, a source familiar with the matter said CNBC late Wednesday.
Peltz reportedly sold his stock at $120 per share; shares currently trade at around $100 and ENdEd to $100.88 on Wednesday.
Nelson Peltz, founding partner of Trian Partners. Photo: Calla Kessler/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Peltz's Trian Partners owned more than 32 million shares of Disney as of March 31, the firm's most recent Registration 13F shows
Disney accounted for nearly half of Trian's holdings at that point, according to the same filing, climbing from 16% in December 2022, when Trian began accumulating a stake in Disney, to 49% in March 2024.
Peltz once wanted a seat on Disney's board of directors, but it was after all unsuccessful after many years of trying. He launched his first board challenge in January 2023, but cancelled The effort came a month later, as Disney implemented a cost-cutting plan.
In March, he published a presentation describing how he would change Disney in a renewed push for a seat on the board.
Disney announced at the April shareholder meeting that his board's 12 recommended nominees were chosen over Peltz and other nominees “by a significant margin.”
Peltz's Trian Partners said that while they were “disappointed” with the outcome of the proxy battle, they were still “proud of the impact” they had on Disney and would “watch the company's performance.”
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