Former Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter said on Wednesday that he can be keeping his Disney shares, every week after reports of him being fired from that role.
Reuters reported last Wednesday that Disney had fired Perlmutter, 80, Disney’s largest individual shareholder, as a part of a cost-cutting campaign.
Pearlmutter though told the Wall Street Journal that he was fired for pressing Disney too aggressively to chop costs and conflict with creative directors whom the newly returning CEO Robert Iger desired to empower.
Disney didn’t immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
News of Perlmutter’s firing got here after he endorsed activist shareholder Nelson Peltz’s unsuccessful bid for a seat on Disney’s board of directors.
“Triana CEO Nelson Peltz has a protracted history of improving shareholder returns at lots of the leading consumer corporations,” Perlmutter said in public statement on Wednesday.
Disney, as a part of its restructuring process, has addressed criticism from Trian Fund Management chief Peltz that Mouse House was overpaying for streaming.
“It was this approach to Disney’s operations that shaped my support for Trian in its quest to revive the dividend, fix the corporate’s inflated cost structure, and ensure a successful succession as CEO,” Perlmutter said.
In response to a WSJ report earlier within the day, he owns roughly 30 million Disney shares value roughly $3 billion.