Billionaire Nelson Peltz continues fight for control of Disney board
The GIST: Over the past few months, billionaire investor (and Brooklyn Beckham’s FIL) Nelson Peltz has been fighting to influence the future of Disney by joining its board. Peltz’s latest battle in the shareholder proxy war could have ramifications for leading sports media network and Disney cash cow ESPN, which has plans to go direct-to-consumer by next year. Can’t wait to be king.
The details: Peltz claims he has no issue with Disney CEO Bob Iger, but his hedge fund management firm Trian Partners withheld its votes to reelect Iger to Disney’s board on Monday. Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo are looking to personally replace two of Disney’s 12 board recommendations before the company’s election during its annual shareholder meeting next week.
The context: Peltz has demanded a Disney board seat at least 24 times during the last three years, despite having minimal media experience. He has argued that Disney should be more proactive in its CEO succession strategy and future content plans. Last month, Fortune described these efforts as a “personal vendetta” against Iger.
- Peltz has also said that Disney’s ESPN and sports product strategy is “chaotic” and risky, while criticizing Marvel for its “woke” film strategy. Yikes.
The fight: Disney has noteworthy supporters on its side, including former CEO Michael Eisner, Star Wars creator George Lucas, proxy-advisor firm Glass Lewis, and the families of Walt Disney and Steve Jobs.
- The Wall Street Journal estimated this could become the most expensive shareholder fight in history, with more than $70M projected to be spent by the warring parties on marketing materials and proxy solicitors before next week’s decision.
Zooming out: Even if Peltz does get what he wants, having only two of 12 board seats will still make it challenging for him to enact significant changes — like merging ESPN+ with Netflix. And when it comes to succession plans, it looks like a rumored bid for ESPN executive Jimmy Pitaro to succeed Iger remains on track. Stay tuned.
