Activist investor Nelson Peltz sells entire Disney stake after proxy battle loss

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Activist investor Nelson Peltz has sold his entire Disney (DIS) stake, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Peltz sold his position at a price of around $120 a share, which yielded a return of about $1 billion, the source said.

The development, first reported by CNBC, comes after Disney successfully fended off Peltz in his quest to secure board seats at the company, officially ending a highly contested proxy battle that plagued the entertainment giant for months.

Peltz had been fighting to secure board seats for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo but was ultimately unsuccessful. At the company's annual shareholder meeting in early April, Disney said the current board would remain intact following a stockholder vote that gave the company's slate a win "by a substantial margin."

Disney did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance's request for comment.

Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. speak at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016.  REUTERS/Mike Blake
Nelson Peltz, founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. speak at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, Calif., Oct. 25, 2016. (REUTERS/Mike Blake) (REUTERS / Reuters)

Peltz's hedge fund, Trian Fund Management, had owned $3 billion of common stock in Disney (including the shares owned by former Marvel Entertainment chair Ike Perlmutter). The activist renewed a push to shake up Disney's board last year as the stock price hit multiyear lows.

At the time of the shareholder meeting, Peltz said prior to the announcement of the results that regardless of the outcome of the vote, Trian would be watching the company's performance.

"The long-term track record still remains disappointing," he said at the time.

Disney shares are up about 12% since the start of the year but have fallen roughly 15% since the company defeated Peltz in its proxy fight.

Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at [email protected].

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