Former Marvel Exec Ike Perlmutter Sells Off All Disney Stock
Perlmutter reportedly sold his shares for almost $3 billion.
Former Marvel executive Ike Perlmutter has sold off all of his Disney stock. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Perlmutter has sold around 25.6 million shares of Disney for almost $3 billion. The move comes after Perlmutter, who was one of the largest individual shareholders in Disney, and activist Nelson Peltz lost a proxy fight to try and win two seats on Disney's board of directors. Per the report, Perlmutter sold his shares of Disney between April and mid-July. Peltz has also reportedly sold his entire stake in Disney with that sale taking place at the end of May for around $1 billion.
Perlmutter was the former chairperson for Marvel Entertainment and accumulated his stock holding when he sold Marvel to Disney back in 2009, though he stopped overseeing the development of Marvel Studios in 2015. In March 2023, Perlmutter was let go from his role at Marvel Entertainment, something that Perlmutter said wasn't a lay off but a firing over a difference in business ideas.
"I have no doubt that my termination was based on fundamental differences in business between my thinking and Disney leadership, because I care about return on investment," Perlmutter said at the time. "All they talk about is box office. I care about the bottom line. I don't care how big the box office is. Only people in Hollywood talk about box office."
"It was merely a convenient excuse to get rid of a longtime executive who dared to challenge the company's way of doing business," Perlmutter said.
Perlmutter was also involved in a proxy fight, led by Disney investor Nelson Peltz, in an attempt to get Peltz on the Disney board. Peltz dropped his first run at Disney only to come back in January, this time having added Jay Rasulo to the attempt to get board seats — one for Peltz and one for Rasulo. Both Peltz and Rasulo failed to secure seats on the board.
As for Perlmutter selling his Disney shares, per the report, this may not be the end of the road. Perlmutter told the Wall Street Journal that he sold his shares due to not having confidence in management and that he might buy Disney stoke again — if the price falls to $65-75 a share. Disney stock has traded as high as $124 and as low as $79 during the past year.
