Loeb’s Fund Purchases $113.7 Million Stake in Disney

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Loeb’s Fund Purchases $113.7 Million Stake in Disney
By Christopher Palmeri & Alexis Leondis - Aug 14, 2013 9:01 PM PT

Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC, the hedge-fund pressing Sony Corp. (6758) to sell part of its entertainment business, acquired a $113.7 million stake in Walt Disney Co. (DIS), extending his bet on the industry.

Third Point held 1.8 million shares of Burbank, California-based Disney at the end of June, according to a regulatory filing yesterday by the New York-based investor. He also held options to buy 32,000 more, the filing showed.

Loeb was buying the stock as he pressed Tokyo-based Sony to sell as much as 20 percent of its film, TV and music business in an initial public offering. The company rejected that call this month, saying the entertainment business is a crucial part of its corporate strategy. Loeb said he was “disappointed” and would continue to seek a dialog with the company.

Elissa Doyle, a spokeswoman for Third Point, declined to comment on the holdings. Zenia Mucha, a spokeswoman for Disney, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Disney was little changed at $63.96 yesterday in New York, valuing Loeb’s shares at $115 million. The company has a market value of $114.3 billion and has gained 28 percent this year. A trust associated with the late Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs is the largest investor with a 7.3 percent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Loeb’s filing didn’t show shares of Sony. (SNE) The investor said in a June 17 letter to Sony Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai that Third Point owned 70 million shares through direct ownership and cash-settled swaps as of mid-June, and is interested in representation on Sony’s board.

Loeb Holdings

The entertainment unit of Sony came under criticism from Loeb amid disappointing box-office sales this year for two film releases: “After Earth” and “White House Down.” Loeb pushed for a partial sale of the division as a way to boost the performance and accountability of Sony’s entertainment unit.

The Third Point also holds shares of Yahoo! Inc. valued at $1.56 billion, two classes of shares in Liberty Global Plc, the international cable TV service controlled by billionaire John Malone, and an investment in 21st Century Fox Inc., the film and TV company controlled by Rupert Murdoch.

The investor also added 845,000 shares of Deerfield, Illinois-based fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) in the second quarter, valued at about $144.9 million at the end of June, according to the filing. Third Point originally disclosed the investment in the largest U.S. producer of nitrogen fertilizer in its second-quarter letter to investors last month, without specifying the size of the stake.

Third Point also bought 8.5 million American depository receipts of Irish pharmaceutical company Elan Corp., valued at $120.2 million. Last month, Perrigo Co., a U.S. maker of over-the-counter medicines, agreed to buy Elan for $8.6 billion.

To contact the reporters on this story: Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at [email protected]; Alexis Leondis in New York at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at [email protected]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-1 ... cmpid=yhoo