He’s back! And this time, he’s out for blood. A little over a year after activist investor Nelson Peltz launched his first attack on the Board of the Walt Disney Company, he’s back for a second proxy battle.
Disney CEO Bob Iger was able to satisfy Peltz last year with a round of job cuts and cost-saving measures, but Peltz still isn’t satisfied with where Disney currently finds itself. This time around, he’s looking for at least two seats on the Disney Board, including one for himself.
As a part of his crusade to get those seats, Nelson Peltz has been making the rounds on television, including a lengthy interview with CNBC. But Peltz also made a trip to Walt Disney World in Central Florida.
He said he bought passes and went without a tour guide to get a feel for the place. He was happy with what he saw at Disney World but is concerned that Universal Studios will open Epic Universe in February 2025. Disney World doesn’t have anything to counter that. Universal has also announced it will be opening attractions in Texas, Las Vegas, and the United Kingdom, and Disney has nothing to counter that expansion.
Related: The Sharks Are Circling as Iger Looks for a Way Out
Peltz was complimentary of Disney World Cast Members but said, in a backhanded way, they have a good reason to be happy. He said:
The employees were smiling, and that’s probably in large part because they didn’t own any Disney stock.
Activist investor Nelson Peltz owns approximately $3 billion of Disney shares through his Trian Partners. He has also teamed with former Marvel Studios boss Ike Perlmutter to allow Trian to control his shares as well.
Peltz is seeking two seats on the Disney Board of Directors, one for himself and one for former Disney CFO James Rasulo.
In response, Disney selected 12 people to sit on its Board, including Bob Iger, and urged investors to reject Peltz, claiming that he has no experience in the media industry.
But Peltz was quick to jump on Disney for its recent movie flops, telling CNBC that Walt Disney Studios has had five straight movies that have lost money. He said:
They said I have no media experience. I don’t claim to have any. But I will tell you, I don’t think they have much media experience. If that comes with media experience, I want a guy who doesn’t have media experience.
This fight will continue until the Disney Board meeting which will decide who will sit on the new Board.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.
