Disney Releases New Video in Latest Pitch to Shareholders
With less than a month to go until The Walt Disney Company’s annual meeting, Disney is going on the attack against activist investor Nelson Peltz and his ally, former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo.
In a new video titled Peltz and Rasulo: Disruptive and Destructive, Disney makes its case to shareholders that adding Peltz and Rasulo to the board could cause unprecedented problems for Disney.
“If they succeed, Disney could suffer the same fate as other great companies that Peltz has previously infiltrated, such as GE and DuPont,” Disney warns.
The Argument Against Peltz
The video begins by going after Peltz, who Disney says has “a long history of attacking companies to the ultimate detriment of shareholder value.”
Peltz, they say, cares little about Disney as a company but instead wants a seat on the board for his own vanity.
“Why else would he sell 500,000 Disney shares over the past six months in the middle of his proxy fight,” the video asks.
Jay Rauslo and Ike Perlmutter
After pointing out that Pelz himself has admitted that he has no media experience, Disney turns its attention to Rasulo, describing the former Disney CFO as “a former Disney employee who was passed over for a promotion nearly a decade ago.”
Rasulo Disney says, “hasn’t been employed since leaving Disney, and the last time he joined the board of a media company, the stock tanked.”
Finally, Disney turned its aim towards the third member of the Restore the Magic triumvirate, former Marvel head Ike Perlmutter.
“Once more, Peltz and Rosulo have teamed up with another disgruntled former employee, Ike Permutter, who has his own likely record of destructive behavior side Disney,” the video explains.
“Perlmutter has a well-documented grudge against Disney CEO Bob Iger. This sort of personal animus in the boardroom is more than disruptive. It can be destructive, especially at this critical time when, despite all of these distractions, Bob Iger and his management team have engineered an ambitious plan to build Disney’s future, positioning the company for a new era of sustained growth and value creation. The last thing that we need right now is to be distracted in terms of our time and energy by an activist or activist.”
Disney’s Recent Successes
Finally, Disney highlighted the company’s recent success.
“In fiscal 2024, [the Disney board] expects cash flow to exceed initial projections and has set a target of $3 billion in stock repurchases. The board also declared a cash dividend of 45 cents per share. An increase of 50% versus the last dividend paid. After a year of significant fixing that made way for a new era of building for growth, the Walt Disney Company has turned the corner and is focused on creating lasting long-term value. This value is reflected in the recent stock performance and improved operating income,” the new video surmises.
After highlighting more recent announcements, including the company taking a stake in Epic Games, the release of Moana 2, and the revelation that Taylor Swift is coming to Disney+, the video concluded with one final plea.
“Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo threaten to jeopardize the incredible progress the company has made since Bob returned as CEO. At this critical moment, we simply cannot let that happen. The choice is clear. Vote Disney.”