GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen files to sell entire stake in Bed Bath Beyond

GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen has filed to sell his entire stake in Bed Bath Beyond BBBY A Form 144 with the SEC on August 17th, showing that Cohen's RC Ventures, which holds an 11.8% stake in the struggling retailer, plans to sell the entire stake in the company within the next 90 days.

A Form 144 filing is used when affiliates of a company plan to sell more than 5,000 shares or $50,000 worth of stock that isn't otherwise registered - such as a 10 b 5 - 1 pre-planned stock sale.

The SEC says that someone filing Form 144 does not have to have a bona fide intention to sell the securities referred to in the Form within a reasonable time after the filing of the Form. The BBBY stock, which is up more than 350% in August, fell by as much as 12% after an 11% rise during Wednesday's session.

This disclosure came just a day after RC Ventures filed an updated Form 13 D with the SEC, in which it revealed an 11.8% stake in 9.45 million shares, including 1.67 million shares underlying call options. The January 2023 call options included January 2023 dated calls with strike prices at $60, $75, and $80 per share.

The total outstanding value of Cohen's stake in the retailer was $148.5 million, according to a filing with the SEC on Wednesday.

Cohen's RC Ventures disclosed a 9.8% stake in the company in March, but he said he planned to engage with the board on strategic alternatives, including a possible spin-off of the company's buybuy Baby brand.

Three Cohen-backed appointees were added to the board in the intervening months, and Bed Bath Beyond replaced CEO Mark Tritton.

Cohen, who co-founded Chewy CHWY back in 2011, has become a darling of the meme stock market, thanks to his involvement at GameStop GME, where he is now chairman of the board.

RC Ventures held a 11.9% stake in the video game retailer as of March 2022.

More to come.