Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who is the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, accused The Walt Disney Company of leaking shareholder votes amidst the company’s contentious proxy battle against Nelson Peltz. Not only did he accuse the company of leaking shareholder votes, but he also called for an SEC investigation into the matter.
Nelson Peltz via David Rubenstein YouTube
READ: Wall Street Journal Reports Nelson Peltz May Lead in Votes for Disney Board Seat
Ackman expressed his thoughts on X following two reports in The Wall Street Journal regarding the shareholder vote. First, at the end of March, The Wall Street Journal’s Sarah Krouse, Robbie Whelan, and Lauren Thomas reported that Nelson Peltz had taken the lead in the vote with “just over 22% of shares” cast.
The trio reported, “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.”
Mickey Mouse in The Prince and the Pauper (1990), Walt Disney Animation
Lauren Thomas and Robbie Whelan followed up that initial report with a new one on April 1st noting that Disney 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.
Moana in Moana (2016), Walt Disney Studios
READ: Report: Disney Takes Lead Over Nelson Peltz And Jay Rasulo In Proxy Battle
Ackman reacted to these leaks writing, “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 these leaks to the press.”
He continued, “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.”
Emperor Palpatine in a scene from “STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH”, season 3 exclusively on Disney+. © 2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
Ackman then explained why he believes that The Walt Disney Company or its advisors have leaked the votes, “And how does one know that it is Disney and/or its advisors that are the source of the leak? If Peltz were ‘winning,’ there would be no leaks to the press.”
He reiterated, “The reason why the progress of an election for directors must be kept confidential until the results are final is that leaking the results can affect the ultimate outcome.”
Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, and Mark Ruffalo as Hulk in The Avengers (2012), Marvel Entertainment
He elaborated, “Institutional shareholders worry about offending management by voting with an activist. They are concerned that if management learns that they have voted against the incumbent directors, they may lose ‘access’ to management going forward. In other words, Bob Iger is less likely to come visit and/or take a call with a shareholder if the shareholder voted with the dissident.”
“This is clearly a close election,” he stated. “Institutions don’t want to risk voting against the incumbent board if it is clear that the activist will lose. They want to be on the winning side of the election.”
(L-R): Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), Magneto (voiced by Matthew Waterson), Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou), Beast (voiced by George Buza), and Gambit (voiced by AJ LoCascio) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
READ: Disney Responds To Nelson Peltz Slamming Marvel For Going Woke
Ackman then reiterated his accusation, “Here, the company and/or its advisors have leaked the early results in order to tip more institutions and other shareholders to vote for the incumbent board, unfairly tipping the scale in the incumbent board’s favor. In other words, an institution may think: if Peltz is going to lose, it is not worth taking the risk of offending management by voting for him.”
He added, “This is unfortunately not an uncommon practice. Years ago, in our proxy contest with ADP, the company and/or its advisors did the same thing.”
Next, he called for the SEC to investigate, “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. ”
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.
From there, Ackman praised Nelson Peltz and encouraged investors to vote for him, “Lastly but importantly, I think highly of Nelson Peltz. I am sure he would be greatly additive as a member of the Disney board. Ask yourself, why is the company fighting so hard to keep him off? The fact that the company leaked the early returns to the media is further evidence that an activist of Nelson’s caliber deserves to be on this board for all shareholders benefit.”
“Based on my knowledge of Nelson’s capabilities and the dirty tricks implemented by the company and its advisors, I strongly recommend that shareholders vote for Nelson Peltz for the Disney board,” he shared.
“Institutions who have already voted still have time to change their vote. It is time that we make an example of Disney here so that this bad practice does not continue to poison shareholder democracy,” he concluded.
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
What do you make of Ackman’s accusation against The Walt Disney Company, his call for a SEC investigation, and his message of support for Nelson Peltz?
