Nelson Peltz Abandons Proxy Fight With Disney
09.02.2023 - 18:33
/ deadline.com
Activist investor Nelson Peltz said this morning that he’s ending his proxy fight againt Disney after CEO Bob Iger announced sweeping restructuring and cost cutting plans yesterday alongside the company’s latest quarterly earnings.
Peltz had amassed a stake of about $1 billion worth of stock and was seeking a seat on Disney’s board at the annual meeting in early April, lobbying heavily in recent weeks to get shareholders’ vote in opposition to the company, which was already running a full slate of directors. He set up a dedicate website, Restore The Magic, that detailed what he saw as the company’s failings. But a string of announcements from Iger yesterday, from slashing billions of dollars in costs to restoring the dividend and creating a new corporate structure all boosted Disney stock and neutralized Peltz, addressing many of his concerns.
He acknowleged that today in an interview on CNBC.
“My dad once told me that you can only win once,” Peltz told Jim Cramer. “This was a great win for all the shareholders. Management at Disney now plans to do everything that we wanted them to do. We wish the very Bob, his management team, the board. We will be watching, we will be rooting, and the proxy fight is over.”
Cramer then shouted “Yes.” “Thank you for declaring victory in a gracious way,” he told Peltz.
This removes a major irritant for Iger, who returned as CEO in November after former chief Bob Chapek was dismissed.
MORE
By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy