Jason Aintabi, the CEO of Blackwells Capital, attacked Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management as the proxy battle for The Walt Disney Company’s Board of Directors heats up.
Mickey walks down Main Street USA at Disneyland. (Credit: Mortimer Productions)
Aintabi and Blackwells Capital are in a battle for board seats at The Walt Disney Company with current Disney CEO Bob Iger as well as Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management.
Aintabi and Blackwells nominated three candidates for the board at the beginning of January in Jessica Schell, Craig Hatkoff, and Leah Solivan with the company claiming these members “have the necessary backgrounds and expertise to support Mr. Iger’s efforts constructively, and complement the Board.”
More recently they claimed that these three individuals “have pledged to continue to support Disney’s transformation efforts under the leadership of the current Board and CEO, Robert A. Iger.”
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In contrast, Peltz and Trian Fund Management nominated himself and former Disney executive Jason Rasulo to the board claiming the current board and its “subpar performance has destroyed value.”
Specifically, Trian Fund Management claimed “the root cause of Disney’s underperformance in our view, is a Board that is too closely connected to a longtenured CEO and too disconnected from shareholders’ interests. The Board, we believe, lacks objectivity as well as focus, alignment, and accountability.”
Nelson Peltz via CNBC Television YouTube
Aintabi and Blackwells have gone after Peltz and Trian in the past, but have escalated their attacks to new levels in a new definitive proxy statement for Disney’s 2024 Annual Meeting.
As part of the press release, Blackwells claimed, “Mr. Peltz has requested a seat on Disney’s Board no less than 24 times in the last year and half. During that time, Mr. Peltz has not offered a single strategic idea that would benefit shareholders.”
The company added, “Mr. Rasulo also lacks the relevant skills and expertise that we firmly believe Disney could use additional support with.”
Furthermore they described Peltz’s behavior as begging, “Begging for Board seats is not a strategy that will make any money for shareholders. We strongly urge our fellow shareholders to vote ‘WITHHOLD’ on the Trian nominees.”
Mickey Mouse in The Prince and the Pauper (1990), Walt Disney Animation
Aintabi added, “The Trian nominees, for their part, are uninspiring; Mr. Rasulo is a former Disney employee who plainly lacks relevant expertise.”
Specifically addressing Nelson Peltz, he said, “Mr. Peltz has spent the last two years begging Disney for a Board seat, and seems to focus his efforts on soliciting endorsements from Elon Musk- who doesn’t own a single Disney share, and is aggrieved at Disney for withholding advertising dollars from his struggling social media platform. These are not winning strategies for Disney Shareholders.”
Nelson Peltz via David Rubenstein YouTube
These comments regarding Peltz and his relationship with Elon Musk come after Peltz and Musk appeared on the red carpet together for Selena Gomez’s new film Lola.
While speaking to a member of the press on the red carpet, Musk explained why he was there, “I’m just here with friends, you know, thinking about companies to acquire.”
Dropping bombs like… pic.twitter.com/qdcBCq7kQ0
— Scott (@ScottPolhamus) February 4, 2024
Musk has also echoed Trian and Peltz’s sentiment that “Disney management is destroying the company” and that it’s “time for change.”
Current Disney management is destroying the company. Time for change.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2024
What do you make of Blackwells Capital and Jason Aintabi’s attack on Nelson Peltz and Trian Fund Management?
Ah, the smell of desperation.
Love that smell in the morning.