A vicious proxy war has been erupting between Disney CEO Bob Iger and Trian Partners founder Nelson Peltz over the last three months regarding control of two seats on the company’s corporate board. Prominent figures from the entertainment and business industries have expressed interest in the board fight.
At Disney’s annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday, investors cast their votes for the board, and this was supposed to be the pivotal moment. Well, now, it is official: Peltz’s attempt to secure seats on the Mouse House board of directors was dismissed by Disney shareholders.
Investors ultimately voted to re-elect all twelve of the board members, including CEO Bob Iger, capping the most expensive corporate proxy battle in history. Also, note that the stock price dropped after all 12 of the company’s current directors were re-elected at the annual meeting.
Disney Shareholders Veto Nelson Peltz’s Board Bid: A Big Win for CEO Bob Iger
Bob Iger, 73, the CEO of Disney, avoided a major humiliation for himself and his company on Wednesday by thwarting an aggressive challenge from activist investors who wanted to move the company in a different direction.
Nelson Peltz, a billionaire activist investor, boldly attacked the corporate leadership of the entertainment conglomerate. But when the company’s shareholders approved board members favored by the current leadership, Peltz and his ally, former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, were left out of the picture (per NBC News).
Disney’s Senior Executive Vice President & Compliance Officer, Horacio Gutierrez, announced that the initial vote tallies indicated that the company’s 12 directors had been re-elected by a “substantial margin” over the nominees put forth by Trian and Blackwells Capital (via Variety).
Iger received 94% of the votes cast in his favor, according to the preliminary results; Peltz received only 31% and Rasulo even less. Aside from that, Disney’s stock closed 3.1% lower on Wednesday after the shareholder meeting, even though the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite market indexes saw a slight increase.
Disney chairman Mark Parker made the following remarks in a statement, as Variety reported:
“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.”
Parker also expressed gratitude to Disney’s staff, Iger, and “his exceptional management team” for “continuing to deliver for consumers and shareholders throughout this distracting proxy battle”. After the vote results, Iger also released a statement saying:
“I want to thank our shareholders for their confidence in our management and board. With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we’re eager to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers.”
Previously, Nelson Peltz has also questioned Marvel boss Kevin Feige’s track record concerning the studio’s box office setbacks.
Nelson Peltz Cast Doubt on Kevin Feige’s Marvel Movie Record
As the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige has had a magnificent run, building a cinematic universe that has brought in about $30 billion at the box office (see The Numbers). However, his tenure has come under scrutiny as the MCU suffers a significant financial blow with The Marvels.
In an apparent reference to two film franchises (Black Panther and The Marvels), Nelson Peltz, 81, publicly questioned the MCU’s “woke” approach. The founder of Trian Partners, who was vying for two Disney board seats, questioned Feige’s current MCU strategy in an interview with Financial Times:
“Why do I have to have a Marvel [movie] that’s all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?”
Peltz has distinct cinematic ideals, especially in the area of business. Continuing, he added:
“People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained. They don’t go to get a message.”
It is important to note that these films do not feature “all women” or “all Black actors”.
In the end, most Disney shareholders decided to stick with the current board, effectively sabotaging Peltz’s attempts to secure director seats at The Walt Disney Company.
Whichever way you slice it, that is a Disney Plus!
