Walt Disney Co. will stop issuing stock certificates on Oct. 16, delivering shares only in electronic form in a blow to would-be collectors of the documents featuring drawings of Bambi and Mickey Mouse.
When investors transfer shares, they will be reissued without certificates, Disney said today in a regulatory filing. That will shrink the supply for websites pitching the items as a way to interest children in investing.
Collectors have made Disney certificates the most popular at GiveAShare.com, a Gilbert, Arizona-based company that provides the documents in a frame for a fee. While many companies have eliminated paper shares, Disneys have stayed top sellers, said Bob Kerstein, founder of Scripophily.com, a website for collectors.
Its such a PR tool for them, Kerstein said. Disney was the major holdout. Im pretty surprised. Everybodys in cost-cutting mode.
Disneys stock certificates feature founder Walt Disney surrounded by Dumbo, Donald Duck and other characters, according to the website Oneshare.com, which also offers framed shares for a fee.
Like hundreds of other companies, Disney will no longer be issuing paper stock certificates in an effort to create a more secure and efficient system, the company said in a statement. Collectors may request non-negotiable certificates of acquisition, Disney said.
Its not the same as a stock certificate, but its nice that Disney is recognizing fans want something, Kerstein said.
Collectors Items
Certificates dating back to the companys initial public stock offering and hand-signed by Disney can fetch more than $25,000, Kerstein said. Companies have been doing away with them for years because of the expense, he said.
GiveAShares favorites list includes Disney, Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) and Facebook Inc. (FB) Because Facebook issues its stock electronically, GiveAShare provides a personalized replica, according to the site.
Disneys change is likely to spark a last-minute rush among collectors and higher prices for existing certificates, according to Rick Roman, a co-founder of GiveAShare.
Since we started, Disney has been the most popular, Roman said in an interview. It appeals to kids, they have one of the best-looking certificates and theres some fanatical adults that want them as well. That ends up being a good way to teach kids about stocks.
Disney, based in Burbank, California, fell 0.9 percent to $64 at the close in New York. The stock has gained 29 percent this year.
