Nelson Peltz, founding partner and CEO of Trian Fund Management, speaks with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin in New York on July 17, 2013.
Heidi Gutmann | CNBC, NBCU Photo Bank, NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Aren’t you entertained, Nelson Peltz?
Disney Shares rose 6% in after-hours trading on Wednesday The company reported earnings and flooded the zone with new announcements designed not only to delight its employees and shareholders, but also to put activist investor Nelson Peltz in his place.
Peltz has launched a proxy fight against Disney, asking investors to nominate him and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to replace current board members Michael Froman and Maria Elena Lagomasino. Both Disney’s higher profits and a series of content and partnership announcements appeared to be a direct refutation of Peltz’s concerns about the company.
“The last thing we need right now is to be distracted by one or more activists who have a different agenda and don’t understand our company,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an interview with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin on Wednesday.
During the first quarter earnings conference call, he added, “We have turned the corner and entered a new era.”
Peltz, who first took a stake in Disney last year but then abandoned and then renewed his threats of a proxy fight, responded with a statement to CNBC that he would not back down this time.
“It’s déjà vu all over again,” says Peltz’s company, Trian Fund Management said in a statement. “We saw this movie last year and we didn’t like the ending.”
It’s been difficult to keep up with Disney’s announcements this quarter:
- ESPN has finally set a launch date for its direct-to-consumer service: August or fall 2025.
- Disney is buying a $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. It’s Disney’s “biggest foray into gaming ever,” Iger told Boorstin.
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film is coming to Disney+.
- Disney increased its dividend by 50% compared to the last dividend paid in January.
- Disney announced that a sequel to “Moana” will hit theaters in November, which will likely be the biggest box office hit of the year for the studio.
- Disney is on track to meet or exceed its targeted $7.5 billion in spending cuts by the end of fiscal 2024.
- The company said it expected Full-year 2024 revenues will increase by at least 20% compared to 2023.
All of these announcements came a day after Disney announced other big news, forming a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox to offer ESPN later this year on a new, skinny bundle of linear networks aimed at sports fans directed. It will be the first time that cord cutters and cord losers will have access to ESPN outside of the traditional cable bundle.
Given the pressure from activists, it makes sense that the mountain of announcements came this quarter Trian and Blackwells Capital. Iger has a vested interest in hitting back at critics of his performance and strategy.
Peltz has been vocal in his criticism of Iger’s leadership as stocks have slumped over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500. Trian has launched a website called Restorethemagic.com that claims Disney has “not performed well for shareholders.”
“It saddens me that the board did not welcome me,” Peltz said last month. “This company is simply not being run properly.”
Iger said he had not spoken to Peltz recently and had no plans to speak to him. In a filing last month, Disney said: “In deciding not to recommend Mr. Peltz, the directors considered a number of factors, including the fact that in his two-year search for a seat on the Disney board, Mr. Peltz did not in fact receive a single seat.” had submitted a proposal.” strategic idea for Disney.
WATCH: Disney CEO Bob Iger on new streaming bundle partnership: “I’d rather be a disruptor.”
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2024-02-08 00:09:35
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