Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a struggle for control over the entertainment behemoth’s board, allowing the Iger camp to devote full focus on content and profit going forward.
Disney told the press on Wednesday that the shareholders voted to elect all board nominees “by a substantial margin” while Peltz lost his campaign to become the board director.
“Thank you for your trust and confidence in the Disney project management, and the ambitious strategy we’re implementing across our businesses to build for the future,” Iger said. “Now that this distracting proxy contest is behind us, we’re here to focus 100 percent of our attention on our most important priorities, growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers. Thank you again for your support and for your continued investment in this.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk voiced his opposition to the change on X, arguing that Peltz should remain on the board, citing his track record of fulfilling shareholder bottom lines at other firms.
Peltz does not like being called an “activist” shareholder, but has successfully stumped for shareholder value at companies like PepsiCo, P&G, and Wendy’s.
Nelson Peltz should definitely be on the Disney board!
He would help reform the company, improve the quality of product and generally serve in the best interests of shareholders, as he has done at many other companies.
This would significantly improve Disney’s share price. https://t.co/JPa6dP7kbQ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024
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Peltz controls roughly $3.98 billion worth of shares in Disney (representing about 2 percent of total shares), mainly through his ally investor Ike Perlmutter, the former chairman and CEO of Marvel Entertainment.
This is the second time in two years that Peltz and Perlmutter tried and failed to get on the company board and change its policies.
CNBC argues that Peltz’s hedge fund Trian Partners and Perlmutter have benefited greatly from Peltz’s activism over the last few years, with Disney shares having increased almost 50 percent since Peltz’s campaign began.
Disney is reportedly once again looking for a successor to Iger. Bob Chapek succeeded Iger and was appointed CEO in 2020, only to get replaced by Iger in November 2022.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, business, and culture for Valuetainment and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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