Looney Tunes: Iger Beats Peltz In Battle for Disney Board

I feel like I oughta dump a “Wave g’night, Mouse” in here somewhere.

It looks like their juvenile “how to vote” in the proxy war cartoon appeal to the lowest common cult member worked.

Disney shareholders fell for the poison apple, hook, line, and stinker.

It’s official: Disney shareholders shot down activist investor Nelson Peltz‘s effort to win seats on the Mouse House’s board of directors. Investors voted to reelect all 12 of the company-backed board members, including CEO Bob Iger, ending the most expensive corporate proxy fight in history.

The voting results for Disney board candidates were announced Wednesday at the company’s 2024 meeting of shareholders, held virtually. Peltz, who heads investment firm Trian Partners, failed to get enough votes in his favor to clinch a board seat (as did Trian’s other nominee, ex-Disney Jay Rasulo).

Horacio Gutierrez, Disney’s senior EVP, chief legal and compliance officer, who oversaw the proceedings at the meeting, said that the preliminary vote tabulations showed Disney’s 12 directors had won reelection by a “substantial margin.” (See the full list below.) He added that the official vote counts will be disclosed in subsequent meeting minutes.

CEO Bob Iger, coming off a noteworthy string of defeats, will undoubtedly be crowing about vanquishing the investment firm raiders trying to right his lost ark. There’s no denying the Disney head had no qualms about spending a fortune to maintain his tarnished throne. At long last Iger can say he’s seen a return on at least one of his investments.

…The widely expected victory caps a combative months-long process and affirms the board’s decisions, from the move to bring back CEO Bob Iger to his efforts to re-invigorate the $223 billion media company. Peltz and Trian wanted to oust two directors — Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman — citing sustained share underperformance, a failed succession process, and billions in misdirected investments.

Peltz lost to Lagomasino by a two-to-one margin, a person familiar with the matter said. Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote. Rasulo lost to Lagomasino by an even larger margin, five votes against for every one for. That person characterized it as Peltz’s largest loss ever.

…Disney deployed significant resources in the proxy fight. The company called in support from its founding family, Star Wars creator George Lucas, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Pixar and Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

I’m not so sure about the company from this point, but the proxy fight was good for shareholders, including the two firms who lost out to Iger’s candidates. The downside for the bottom line is that Iger’s still in the driver’s seat.

…With Disney shares up nearly 50% since Peltz’s campaign first began, Trian and Perlmutter gained a lot despite their board defeat. Peltz is partially on the hook for an estimated $25 million spent on the fight, a small amount compared to the paper gains in the stake he controls.

As it moves past the battle with Peltz, Disney still faces down unprecedented challenges. ESPN has shed subscribers for years, raising questions about whether it is prepared to go toe-to-toe with streaming upstarts. Disney’s streaming business has spent billions to win subscribers and is losing money as it tries to catch up to market leader Netflix.

Perhaps most significantly, the company is searching for a successor to Iger for the second time in five years. Disney’s botched succession, where Iger’s hand-picked replacement Bob Chapek was ousted just two years into his tenure, was a key point Trian used against the company.

There are unresolved messes on Disney’s balance sheet, and some projects already wreathed in the stench of financial disaster lurking in the closet – like Snow White. Multiple big-money films have been pushed back repeatedly in hopes of reshoots, reboots, or short memories. It’s hard to tell what Disney thinks will rectify what ails them.

Praying for the public to forget what Disney has become is a forlorn hope…

NEW: Former ESPN host Sage Steele says her interview with Joe Biden was completely scripted & she was ordered to not deviate from the script at all.

The president of the United States can’t answer a question by himself. Insane.

“It was so structured and I was told, ‘you will… pic.twitter.com/EjbxAXf18K

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 3, 2024

…as Iger is still intent on smacking consumers in the face with his utter disdain for the values that made them love Disney to begin with.

We stand with @chooocole as she confronts #Disney over its unethical and hypocritical practice of denying healthcare coverage for detransitioners while supporting those undergoing transition:

“I intend to make sure the board and Mr. Iger hear that the company’s irrational…

— Do No Harm (@donoharm) April 3, 2024

In addition to the societal pressures, tanking feature film receipts, and the streaming ills, Iger has Orlando to worry about. Not that pesky governor and the legislature, though. 

Something probably worse for Disney in the long run and scheduled to open next year: Epic Universe.

There’s a lot of talk about Universal Orlando and the five worlds coming to Epic Universe.

Most recently, we learned about the attractions and entertainment in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk.

“I think the concept art is beautiful. It’s gorgeous,” Alicia Stella with Theme Park Stop said.

In the latest announcement from Universal Orlando Resort, the company took guests inside another world, coming to Epic Universe. Stella has been tracking down permits and documents for Epic Universe since 2018. She says the concept art is nothing short of amazing.

“To see it fleshed out in color, and to see what we’re going to walk into when the land opens next year is breathtaking. And it’s something that no permit information could possibly prepare us for,” Stella said.

The buzz is unbelievable for this monster of a brand-new park. Five worlds to visit and many of them built around beloved favorites.

It could be a tough nut to crack as far as competition for theme park dollars in a town saturated with pricey amusements, and I don’t believe any are pricier than Disney World. Epic’s been in the works for six years thanks to a COVID interruption, so Disney has had plenty of heads up to get ready, gird their loins for battle, and freshen up their own act in Orlando, besides jousting with DeSantis.

After winning the proxy fight, what did Iger have to say about the coming attraction and the strength of Disney’s Orlando position?

…Iger said, “We’ve been aware of Universal’s plans for a new park for more than a decade. And we have a sophisticated approach to analyzing the needs of all of our businesses and strategically deploying capital.”

…Iger continued, “By staggering these major launches, we’ve been able to commercially and operationally optimize our new offerings over time, rather than having to do it all at once. And based on the guest experience that we’ve heard all about, from all of these items that I just mentioned, we know that they’re extremely popular and they’re serving our guests extremely well.”

By George, that’s inspirational.

LAME

Looks like everyone had high hopes and now a little of that ebullient air is hissing out of the balloon.

Iger is going to have to work on his inspirational schtick if he wants this trend line reversed.

That and a whole lot more.

But shareholders sure can’t say they didn’t get what they voted for. I hope that stupid cartoon was worth it.