Proactive Investors - Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, ETR:WDP) shareholders have voted against giving activist investor Nelson Peltz a seat on the board of directors, marking a major win for Disney’s chief executive Bob Iger.
Peltz, through his Trian Fund Management firm, has been pushing for a shakeup at the entertainment conglomerate, including the ousting of board members Michael Froman and Maria Elena Lagomasino.
He has also called for a post-Iger succession plan, tighter performance-linked executive pay and for Disney to pursue ‘Netflix-like’ margins to restore its share price.
Peltz’s ambition to get a seat on the board for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo was endorsed by Elon Musk, who Tweeted before today’s shareholder vote that “I would definitely buy their shares if Nelson were elected to the board”.
Peltz has also shot out at Disney’s ‘wokeness’, telling the Financial Times last month that “people go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained…They don’t go to get a message”.
“Why do I have to have a Marvel (NASDAQ:MRVL) that’s all women?” he said in an interview. “Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?”
But Peltz’s crusade was ultimately a failure, with shareholders denying him and ally Rasulo a seat at the table.
Shares reacted negatively to the news, falling nearly 3.2% near the end of Wednesday's trading session.
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