Disney facing activist investor Nelson Peltz again
Peltz’s Trian Fund Management wants two seats on company board this time
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Activist investor Nelson Peltz is planning a new board challenge at Walt Disney less than 10 months after the home of Mickey Mouse laid out plans that addressed his criticism.
Peltz is now expected to ask Disney for "multiple" board seats, including one for himself, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
The Walt Disney Co.
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Meanwhile, the New York-based hedge fund has grown its ownership of Disney "five-fold" since the end of the second quarter when a regulatory filing showed it owning 6.4 million Disney shares, according to Reuters.
Nelson Peltz, founder partner and CEO of Trian Fund Management, is seen at his office in New York on June 28, 2022. (Calla Kessler/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Should Disney stop his attempt to join the board again, Reuters said Peltz's Trian Fund Management could nominate director candidates between Dec. 5 and Jan. 4.
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Peltz said in a January press release that the entertainment conglomerate had lost its way in recent years, "resulting in a rapid deterioration in its financial performance from a consistent dividend-paying, high free cash flow generative business into a highly leveraged enterprise with reduced earnings power and weak free cash flow conversion."
Attendees are reflected in the Disney+ logo during the Walt Disney D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, on Sept. 9, 2022. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In response to Peltz's Jan. 12 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Disney said the activist investor "does not understand Disney’s businesses and lacks the skills and experience to assist the board in delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem."
In the filing, Disney also alleged Trian's analysis of the company's financial transactions was fundamentally flawed, while also refuting a series of reported claims from Peltz on his intentions to remove Bob Iger as CEO and Disney’s lack of strategy, operating initiatives and new ideas.
Disney CEO Bob Iger arrives at the Sun Valley Lodge for the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 11, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The renowned activist investor's fortune and influence came back into focus after his daughter, 'Transformers: Age of Extinction' actress Nicola Peltz, married Brooklyn Beckham in a lavish 2022 ceremony.
Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz attend The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City. ( Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue / Getty Images)
Disney and Trian did not respond FOX Business' request for comment.
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Reuters contributed to this report.