Nelson Peltz Wants Multiple Seats on the Disney Board
Nelson Peltz is the headache that just won’t go away.
10 months after the activist investor and his Trian Fund Management ended their proxy battle for a seat on the Disney board, Peltz is reportedly gearing up for another fight.
Creator: Mike Blake. Credit: REUTERS
Peltz’s latest Disney battle is fueled by former President of Marvel (and longtime Bob Iger critic) Ike Perlmutter. Trian now oversees more than $2 billion in Disney shares that belong to the former Disney executive.
Peltz Is At it Again
After a series of icy meetings with Disney brass last winter, Peltz publically launched his “Restore the Magic Campaign” and asked Disney shareholders to vote him onto the board.
Following Disney’s 2023 Q1 earnings report, where Bob Iger laid out his plans to restructure the company and cut $5.5 billion, Peltz announced the end of his proxy battle.
Photo:restorethemagic.com
“The proxy fight is over,” he said.
While Peltz’s threat to Iger was seemingly over, the activist investor would not go away.
Photo: Disney CEO Bob Iger (Getty Images)
“We wish the very best to Bob [Iger], this management team, and the board. We will be watching. And we will be rooting,” he said at the time.
Biding His Time
Ahead of Disney’s Q4 earnings, Peltz appeared to be gearing up for another run at a Disney board seat.
Disney, for their part, seemed to be preparing to fend off Peltz’s latest attack. First, the company appointed longtime Peltz foe Hugh Johnston as their new CFO.
Photo: restorethemagic.com
Then, the company added Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman and former Sky TV boss Jeremy Darroch to the board yesterday. The move was widely seen as a bid to fend off a potential proxy battle from Peltz.
Credit: Disney
While Disney shares are up 6% this year, they have underperformed the S&P 500.
Iger is in a Good Position
Still, the company’s Q4 earnings results were strong, and the stock is up over 13% in the last month.
Photo: Disney
Buoyed by the strong results, the end of the Hollywood strikes, and the addition of new allies, Iger will look to once again vanquish Peltz.
While the activist investor has a cache of ammunition supplied by Perlmutter, Iger seemingly has the high ground.
Former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
As always, continue to check back with MickeyBlog. We will update you on Nelson Peltz’s latest maneuvering.
