Disney Confirms Blackwells Plan to Nominate Three Directors
January 03 2024 - 8:34AM
Dow Jones News
By Dean Seal
Walt Disney has confirmed that Blackwells Capital plans to
nominate three directors at Disney's next shareholder meeting,
adding a new twist to the battle over the entertainment giant's
board.
Disney said Wednesday that Blackwells had provided notice of its
intentions and that the nominees will be evaluated in due
course.
The confirmation came after Reuters reported that the activist
hedge fund was eyeing three board seats while remaining supportive
of Chief Executive Bob Iger. Citing unnamed sources, the report
said Blackwells objects to rival activist Nelson Peltz's bid to
install himself and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay
Rasulo on the board.
Peltz's Trian Fund Management launched a proxy campaign toward
the end of 2022 that called for cost cuts and board changes at
Disney, but ended it in February after Iger said he would cut $5.5
billion in costs and reduce Disney's head count by 7,000.
Concerned by Disney's performance during the summer that
followed, Peltz is taking another run at the company with help from
friend Isaac Perlmutter, former chairman of Marvel Entertainment,
who has agreed to give Peltz's firm the voting rights to his large
Disney stake.
With nearly 33 million Disney shares in its war chest, Trian
said in December that it intended to nominate Peltz and Rasulo to
the board, weeks after the company rebuffed Peltz's previous
request to become a director.
Earlier on Wednesday, Disney said activist investor ValueAct has
agreed to back its slate of board nominees at the coming 2024
shareholder meeting, boosting its position in the proxy fight with
Peltz. Disney agreed to share company information with ValueAct
Capital Management, which has reportedly taken a substantial stake
in Disney, and consult with the firm on strategic matters.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 03, 2024 09:19 ET (14:19 GMT)
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