A new report claims that The Walt Disney Company and its board defeated Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management following a heated and contentious proxy battle.
Bradley Cooper and Bob Iger attend the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood CA on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
(Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Reuters’ Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Greg Roumeliotis report, “Walt Disney Co. has secured enough shareholder votes to defeat a challenge against its board mounted by Nelson Peltz’s hedge fund Trian Fund Management, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The duo added, “Enough votes had been cast as of Tuesday evening to put Disney’s board directors safely ahead of Trian’s two challengers, Peltz and former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, the sources said.”
Nelson Peltz via CNBC Television YouTube
READ: Report: Disney Takes Lead Over Nelson Peltz And Jay Rasulo In Proxy Battle
This is the latest leak concerning the shareholder votes ahead of the company’s annual meeting that is set to take place later today on April 3rd. Previously, The Wall Street Journal reported at the end of March that Nelson Peltz was in the lead with a little less than a quarter of the votes in.
The outlet shared, “Among those who have already cast their votes, Peltz leads Disney director Maria Elena Lagomasino, while Rasulo, the other name on the Trian slate, has so far failed to gain much of a foothold with shareholders, these people said.”
A Disney spokesman responded to this report telling the outlet that leaking the vote count was “a highly inappropriate attempt to sway votes.”
Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios’ THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Eli Adé. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
The Wall Street Journal followed up that report on April 1st detailing that The Walt Disney Company had taken the lead “with more than half of all shares voted, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Specifically, the outlet reported that BlackRock had thrown their support behind The Walt Disney Company. BlackRock reportedly controls a little more than 4% of The Walt Disney Company.
Not only was BlackRock supporting Disney, but T. Rowe Price was reportedly set to throw its support behind Disney as well. The money manager controls about .5% of the company.
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READ: Disney Responds To Nelson Peltz Slamming Marvel For Pushing Sociopolitical Agendas
Following the second leak to The Wall Street Journal, billionaire Bill Ackman accused The Walt Disney Company of leaking the vote totals writing on X, “Only the company and its advisors have access to how shareholders have voted before the day of the annual meeting. My understanding is that it is illegal to release the outcome of the vote prior to it being finalized as it has the effect of manipulating the outcome. Here, the company and/or its advisors have leaked that Disney is winning the contest. It is really inappropriate that they have done so.”
He went on to call for a SEC investigation, “The SEC should do a thorough investigation of this proxy contest and appropriately punish whoever is responsible for this miscarriage of shareholder governance and justice. Companies of the caliber of Disney and/or its advisors should not behave this way.”
There have been a few recent articles in the press about @Disney ‘winning’ its proxy contest with Nelson Peltz based on early election returns that have been leaked to the media. We don’t have an investment in Disney, but I thought it useful to point out the inappropriateness of…
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 2, 2024
Financial analyst Valliant Renegade echoed Ackman’s comments writing on X, “After 20 years proudly serving in the Financial Industry I do NOT take this post lightly. But I am forced to agree with my esteemed colleague Bill Ackman in requesting that SEC carefully examine the regulatory events of Disney this week leading up to [The Walt Disney Company’s] ShareHolder Meeting. The absolute democratic integrity of Wall Street may well be ON THE LINE.”
After 20 years proudly serving in the Financial Industry I do NOT take this post lightly. But I am forced to agree with my esteemed colleague @BillAckman in requesting that @SECGov carefully examine the regulatory events of @Disney this week leading up to $DIS ShareHolder…
— Valliant Renegade (@ValliantRenegad) April 3, 2024
Interestingly, The Walt Disney Company’s FAQ section on their Investor Relations website indicates that votes can be changed during the annual meeting even if one had previously voted. One question asks, “If I plan to attend the virtual meeting, should I still vote in advance?”
Disney’s answer to the question reads, “Yes, please vote by proxy promptly upon receiving your materials. If you pre-register for the meeting, you may vote again at the virtual annual meeting should you wish to change your vote.”
Emperor Palpatine in a scene from “STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH”, season 3 exclusively on Disney+. ©.
What do you make of these leaks to the press regarding who is in the lead during this proxy battle for seats on The Walt Disney Company’s Board of Directors?
On the bright side of things this will make even more people lose this false hope that Disney might get better.
Watching Disney set piles of money on fire has been way more entertaining than watching any of their movies. So, we can look forward to more entertainment.