Activist investor Dan Loeb takes new Stake in Disney, urges ESPN spinoff

Activist investor Dan Loeb on Monday said he has acquired a stake in Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) and called for sweeping changes at the entertainment giant, including a spinoff of the cable sports channel ESPN, share buybacks and board refresh.

The suggestions were made in a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, where Loeb said his investment firm, Third Point, had taken a “significant stake” in the company in recent weeks.

Loeb made a reverse turn by acquiring a stake in the second quarter not long after liquidating the firm’s position in Disney during the first quarter.

“Our confidence in Disney’s current trajectory is such that we have, in recent weeks, repurchased a significant stake in the Company,” Loeb wrote to Chapek.