Eisner Buys $10 million Worth of Stock

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pheneix

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wow, the desperation is definitely sinking in at Disney.

>>>LOS ANGELES -- Michael Eisner, chairman and chief executive of Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS - News) , has purchased $10 million of his company's shares as a sign of confidence in Disney's long-term prospects.

Mr. Eisner bought 725,700 shares on the open market Wednesday at prices ranging from $13.55 to $14.49, it was disclosed Thursday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Disney were up 65 cents, or 4.5%, to close at $15.15.

Mr. Eisner's purchases bring his stake in Disney to 13.9 million shares, not including stock he holds indirectly through retirement and other accounts.

Mr. Eisner wasn't available for comment, according to company spokesman Gary Foster.<<<

I'm giving Eisner six months, enough time for all of Disney's problems to sink in (kind of like how the "reality" of Vivendi's debt sinked in), and enough time for Eisner to be proven out to be the fool that he really is. Then the board (with the help of an few VERY angry shareholders) will oust Eisner in a stunning battle that could only be matched by the extravaganza that Vivendi put on a little over a month ago. Either way, all signs are pointing for a very turbulent year for the company in 2003.

http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/020815/200208151954000770_1.html
 
RogueHabit

RogueHabit

Well-Known Member
Some more on this from Bloomberg:

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news.ht&s=APVw7CxQ8RGlzbmV5

Disney has said it won't be making stock repurchases anytime soon because the company wants to use its cash to pay debt. The second-largest U.S. media company has told investors that it expects a stronger economy and improved ratings at ABC to spur earnings growth starting in fiscal 2004.

``The near-term catalysts (for the stock) are going to be more economic-driven than anything else,'' Chief Financial Officer Thomas Staggs said in an interview this week. ``Over the next couple of years, if we execute well (at ABC), there's really a huge amount of earnings upside to be had, even though we won't see that earnings upside in the next 12 months.''

Disney shares today rose 65 cents to $15.15 at 4:16 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

``Eisner's investment demonstrates his personal confidence in the company's direction and prospects for growth over the long term,'' the Burbank, California-based company said in a statement.

Seven-Year Low

Disney shares set a seven-year low of $13.48 on Aug. 9, about a week after the company reported that fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 7.1 percent because of disappointing results at the company's theme parks, ABC network and movie studio.
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Personally I feel that saying 'Give him six more months to prove what a fool he is.' is somewhat shortsighted. He's been there a while and he clearly has some kind of vision. Another 6 months isn't going to make a hell of a lot of difference right now. I think, rightly or wrongly, that he could still be there 10 years from now if he doesn't choose to jump ship, but I don't see him being pushed out realistically.
 
MrPromey

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by pheneix
>>>he clearly has some kind of vision<<<

Yes, it is $$$-Vision.
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Well, I believe that Eisner is currently the third largest single shareholder in the company so he does sort of have a financial interest in how well the company does and $10 million isn’t exactly chump change. I doubt that he would have invested that much to throw it away. In the most obvious sense, it seems like sort of a good faith movement to say he plans to fix things this isn’t something he had to do. Even if they do oust him, according to the contract they have to pay him millions each year for every year left in his contract so putting that money in a stock that’s just going to drop further wouldn’t make a whole heck of a lot of sense and say what you will about how he’s been running the company as of late but we are talking about his own money which you seem to feel very confident that he has high interest in.
 

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