Disney officially won its proxy fight, defeating activist investor Nelson Peltz‘s campaign to reshuffle the company’s board of directors. At the last annual shareholders meeting, it was announced that they voted to elect Disney’s full slate of 12 nominees, including CEO Bob Iger.
The vote tally has not yet been made public, but Horacio Gutierrez (senior executive vice president and chief legal and compliance officer) noted that Disney achieved victory by a «substantial» margin over the two nominees put forward by Peltz’s Trian Partners and three other Blackwells nominees. Capital.
The one-hour meeting was broadcast as a live webcast beginning at 10:00 a.m. PST and will soon be available online. This proxy vote outcome for the media giant is a critical sign of investor confidence in Iger and his leadership. Appearing at the meeting, the CEO thanked shareholders for their support and refocused attention on the company’s «extraordinary future,» ambitious strategies and this year’s successful awards season, which culminated in 20 Oscar nominations.
In particular, Iger was upbeat about the company’s 2024 movie slate, highlighting upcoming family films such as Inside Out 2, Mufasa and Moana 2. And beyond the big screen, he’s «never been more confident» in Disney‘s streaming business, which Iger said is set to be a key profit driver for the company. (Disney’s DTC vertical is approaching profitability after cutting its streaming losses over the past year).
Bob Iger, CEO, commented: ‘Young audiences are huge consumers of video games.’ The company’s CEO emphasized that the company’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games will put Disney in a position to “forge even greater connections” with this demographic. Finally, Iger had high praise for the media giant’s parks and experiences division as it continues to focus on strategies to expand Disney’s IP in the sector, highlighting top-performing Disney World attractions such as Pandora-The World of Avatar and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Today’s vote ended the long-running proxy fight that came at a fairly high price for all parties involved. Disney reportedly spent approximately $40 million on outreach efforts, while Peltz‘s campaign is estimated to have cost $25 million and Blackwells‘ is pegged at around $6 million.
Vote estimates earlier this week, as reported by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, suggested that Disney was on track to win today. The company’s three largest institutional shareholders (Vanguard Group, BlackRock and State Street) were likely influential, although individual shareholders representing more than a third of outstanding shares certainly played a key role as well.
Blackwells Capital representatives declined to speak to shareholders at the meeting, but Peltz made an appearance before the results to make his case, ending on a positive note with praise for Disney’s entertainment legacy and strong IP library. ‘All we want is for Disney to get back to creating great content, delighting consumers [and creating] long-term, sustainable value for all of its shareholders,’ he said. ‘Regardless of the outcome of today’s vote, Trian will be watching the company’s performance.’
