Nelson Peltz Targets Director Michael Froman in Proxy Battle
Nelson Peltz has made the next move in his bid for a seat on the Disney board- he has chosen his opponent.
The Trian Management founder and his company, have begun to message Disney shareholders, urging them to withhold votes from board member Michael B.G. Froman, and instead vote for Peltz.
Why Trian chose Froman as its target remains unclear. The MasterCard executive has been on the Disney board since 2018, making him one of the longer-serving directors.
A Shift in Tactics?
In addition to choosing the seat Peltz will target, Trian Management released an open letter to Disney shareholders on Thursday, which took aim at the Disney board.
As opposed to earlier presentations, which singled out the performances of Disney CEO Bob Iger and his predecessor Bob Chapek, the new letter blames the Disney’s board for the company’s financial woes.
Trian singled out Disney’s declining stock prince in 2022, as well as its decision to cancel dividend payments. In their letter, Trian bluntly states “it is clear the Board of Directors has caused this recent destruction of value”.
“As the owners of this great company, we must act,” the letter continues. “The current Disney directors wake up with challenging day jobs: building cars, selling clothing, processing credit card transactions, sequencing genes. All important things. But these accomplished directors are busy and we believe they cannot possibly focus sufficiently on Disney to ensure that 2023 and 2024 are nothing like 2022. If they could, 2022 would not have been like 2022.” The letter continues.
Disney’s Opposition
Ever since Peltz publicly launched his proxy battle last month, Disney has been steadfast in their opposition to him joining the board.
Following Peltz’s initial letter, Disney responded by saying that Peltz “does not understand Disney’s businesses, and lacks the skills and experience to assist the board in delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem”.
Although Disney has yet to publicly respond to Peltz’s latest attack, the company would surely argue that their lackluster 2022, was mirrored in the rest of the entertainment industry.
While Peltz’s next move remains unclear, his shift towards attacking Froman and the Disney board is an important one. Disney will have to fortify Froman if it hopes to keep Peltz off the board.
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