Hollywood Week: Nelson Peltz, Trian Group Fails to Gain Confidence of Disney Shareholders

Details: Category: Entertainment News; Published on Wednesday, 03 April 2024 15:18; Written by Janet Walker

A contentious battle to gain two seats on the Walt Disney board by Trian founder Nelson Peltz ended after the preliminary results of the shareholder votes were tallied, blocking the second attempt by the activist investor.

The months long sparring match between the two Hollywood Titians, Bob Iger, the CEO of Walt Disney and former Chairman of the Board, and architect of the current ambitious expansion plans and Activist investor and co-founder of Trian Partners, Nelson Peltz, who also gained the proxy vote of Ike Perlmutter, former head of Marvel Studios, and supported by former Walt Disney CFO, Jay Rasulo, resulted in presidential style campaigning as each camp attempted to persuade shareholders to vote for the slate of officers and agendas presented.

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Within the first twenty minutes of voting, Peltz was given three uninterrupted minutes to present one final pitch to sway any still undecided voters. His points remained the succession strategy and the fluctuating share price, which has taken fallen since its high, as Peltz, said, "of $200.00" to the somewhat stable $118.96, the stock's position today.

"Shareholders threw their support behind Iger, with the CEO securing 94% of votes cast, while Disney director Maria Elena Lagomasino, whose seat Trian contested, won 63%, according to people familiar. Peltz won 31% of votes cast. Retail investors—which represent more than a third of Disney shareholders—were particularly helpful. Some 75% of retail investors who cast votes backed the company's slate," reported The Wall Street Journal.

Iger, who has been associated with a somewhat nostalgic reminder of the Disney company's recent pre-pandemic strength, and voters believe that he has the popularity, power, vision, and team to regain that momentum and build the company back, even better, which will translate to increased share prices.

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After the tabulation of the vote was announced, and the votes on the additional issues placed before the board, Iger introduced a video presentation that outlined the advances, expansions, and of course, theatrical presentations which fans of the mouse house can expect in the coming years.

Ranging from ESPN and Women's Sports, streaming, the continued bundle build which began with the acquisition of Hulu, in 2019, to include multiple options positioning itself Disney+ as a leader in the continuing streaming wars and expansion opportunities to the Parks and Experience business, which will add $60 billion in the next ten years to "turbocharge the experience business."

Enhancing guest experiences include additional experiences in the theme parks of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, like Pandora: The World of Avatar, Pirates of The Caribbean, Tangled and other themed attractions from Imagineering experiences, as well as the Disney Cruise Line and other business entities that make up the experiences catalogue.

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The final segment of the 50-minute annual shareholders meeting was dedicated to a question-and-answer session, in which Iger responded to pre-screened questions on a range of topics, including advancing a political agenda.

When asked, is it possible for Disney to stay out of political and social agendas and just provide entertainment, Iger responded, "Our job is to entertain first and foremost and by telling great stories we continue to have a positive impact on the world and inspire future generations just as we've done for over 100 years the Disney has always been and will continue to be a source of hope joy and optimism for people of all ages we're committed to telling stories that reflect the world around us and using those stories to entertain people from all walks of life I've always believed that we have a responsibility to do good in the world but we know our job is not to advance any kind of agenda so as long as I'm in the job I'm going to continue to be guided by a sense of decency and respect and we will always trust our instincts."