Hedge fund Third Point disclosed a roughly $1 billion stake in Walt Disney on Monday and said it plans to pressure the media company to make a number of changes, from spinning off cable sports channel ESPN to buying back stock and adding new board members. board of directors, Reuters and news.ro report.

Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb, who runs Third Point, made a radical move toward Disney when he bought a new stake in the company in the second quarter, shortly after selling his stake in the company a few months earlier. rather, rising interest rates caused significant selling.

Now Third Point, which owns about 0.4 percent of the company known for its theme parks and movies like Aladdin and Frozen, is back with praise for the company’s CEO Robert Chapek and a list of initiatives he and the board must follow them to stimulate growth.

“Our confidence in Disney’s current trajectory is such that we have bought back a significant stake in the company in recent weeks,” Loeb wrote to Chapek in a letter obtained by Reuters.

Loeb wrote the letter after Disney reported a 50% jump in quarterly profit and streaming subscriptions overtook Netflix.

Capek has weathered criticism from Hollywood over a 2021 dispute with Scarlett Johansson, star of Marvel’s Black Widow, and a political firestorm over the company’s response to a new education law in Florida, where the company employs about 80,000 people.

Disney was initially silent on the measures to limit classroom discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation, prompting criticism from the community and some employees. He later denounced the law, prompting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to criticize Woke Up by Disney.

Loeb wrote that management may already be considering his proposed changes, including cost cuts, debt repayments and stock buybacks. He said Disney’s board needed to be revamped, finding “gaps in talent and experience within the group that needed to be addressed.”

Loeb said he has identified potential leaders but declined to elaborate.

Disney said in a statement that it welcomes “the views of all our investors.” He noted the company’s revenue and profit growth under Čapek, adding that his board of directors “has significant experience in the brand, consumer and technology businesses.”

Activist investors often advance their agendas by trying to win seats on the board, either through invitations from the company or by rallying other investors to support executives in a vote.

Loeb’s main proposal is for ESPN, which he believes should be brought to shareholders. He asked Disney to hire bankers and lawyers to “re-evaluate the feasibility of the deal in the current environment” after Disney had already considered it.

Industry publication Puck reported last year that Disney was considering spinning off ESPN as the network loses cable subscribers. The same publication wrote last month that this option was no longer considered, and that live sports is considered a “pillar” of the company’s business.

Loeb also suggested that Disney accelerate the timing of buying the remaining Hulu shares from minority shareholder Comcast ahead of the planned 2024 acquisition.

This will pave the way for Hulu to integrate into the Disney+ technology platform and save money.

Disney shares, which have fallen about 21% since January, were up 2.2% at $124.21 on Monday afternoon.

Loeb has previously championed change at companies ranging from Nestle to healthcare company Baxter International.

Like other prominent hedge fund managers, Loeb has suffered double-digit losses this year and tried to limit the losses by selling nearly all of his technology holdings at the start of the year, the sources said.

Third Point bought back Disney shares at a lower price than when it first invested in 2020.