Activist investor Nelson Peltz defeated in Disney board battle
Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz has failed in his attempt to secure a seat on Disney’s board after shareholders backed the Hollywood giant instead.
At its annual general meeting on Wednesday, Disney confirmed it had won the support of enough investors to see off a proxy battle mounted by Mr Peltz, who holds a stake in Disney worth $3.5bn (£2.8bn).
The result marks a victory for Bob Iger, the Disney chief executive, who will be re-appointed to the company’s board alongside 11 other existing directors.
Mr Peltz, who holds a stake in Disney through his vehicle Trian Fund Management, waged a fierce campaign against the media giant, arguing its performance was lagging behind rivals and taking aim at its bungled succession planning.
He also lashed out at the diverse casts of Disney’s recent films. He told the Financial Times: “People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained. They don’t go to get a message.”
Disney last week said Mr Peltz was “ill-equipped to serve on Disney’s board” and that he would “harm Disney and jeopardise our strategic transformation”.
The activist, who is the father-in-law of Brooklyn Beckham, was pushing for board seats for himself and former Disney finance chief Jay Rasulo.
He won the support of influential advisory group Institutional Shareholder Services, which recommended that investors should vote to add the billionaire to Disney’s board.
However, rival advisor Glass Lewis sided with Disney and Mr Iger in the dispute, alongside high-profile figures including JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon and Star Wars creator George Lucas.
Vanguard Group and BlackRock, Disney’s two largest shareholders, were among the investors to vote in support of the company.
In a statement, Trian said: “While we are disappointed with the outcome of this proxy contest, Trian greatly appreciates all of the support and dialogue we have had with Disney stakeholders. We are proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this company on value creation and good governance.
“We will be watching the Company’s performance and be focusing on its continued success.”
Mark Parker, chairman of Disney, said: “We are immensely grateful to our shareholders for their investment in Disney and their belief in its future, particularly during this period of great change in the broader entertainment industry.
“We are fortunate to have a highly qualified board of directors who possess a profound commitment to the enduring strength of this company and an enormous amount of experience and expertise, including succession planning.”
The vote also marks a defeat for Blackwells Capital, another activist investor that was seeking three board seats.
Earlier, Elon Musk vowed to take a stake in Disney if Mr Peltz won his battle to win a board seat.
Mr Musk posted on his social media site X that the hedge fund manager “should definitely be on the Disney board”. He added: “While I don’t own any Disney shares today, I would definitely buy their shares if Nelson were elected to the board.”
The Tesla boss has been a vocal critic of Disney and Mr Iger’s leadership over its decision to halt advertising on Twitter, now rebranded as X.
The world’s third richest man has said Mr Iger should be “fired immediately”, called Disney’s recent films “unwatchable”, and claimed that “Walt Disney would despise Bob Iger”.
Wednesday’s result represents a boost to Mr Iger, a long-serving Disney executive who was parachuted back into the top job at the end of 2022.
Mr Iger has slashed around 7,000 jobs as part of a $5.5bn cost-cutting strategy as he aims to steer Disney through the streaming age and turn its fortunes around after a string of disappointing box office results.
