At first, Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief govt, appeared poised to simply defeat Trian. (Blackwells was by no means a lot of a risk.) Distinguished Disney shareholders like George Lucas and Laurene Powell Jobs lined as much as again him. Disney members of the family, together with Abigail E. Disney, blasted Trian and Blackwells as “wolves in sheep’s clothes.” Analysts (Guggenheim, Macquarie) and shareholder advisory companies (Glass Lewis, ValueEdge) threw chilly water on Mr. Peltz’s marketing campaign.
However it has advanced right into a a lot nearer contest.
Mr. Iger’s job is just not at stake. Now 73 and in his second stint as chief govt, he has vowed to go away Disney for good on the finish of 2026. A loss, nevertheless, would taint his legacy — and probably disrupt the corporate’s strategy to streaming, theme park enlargement and even the messages embedded in its films.
Here’s what to know.
Disney is more likely to win, however there aren’t any ensures.
In current days, Disney has obtained essential help in its effort to maintain the dissidents off its board. BlackRock, which owns about 80 million Disney shares, voted to elect Disney’s slate on Monday, as did T. Rowe Value, which owns about 9 million. Vanguard, which owns about 146 million shares, gave Disney its vote on Tuesday.
However the activists even have supporters. ISS, an influential proxy advisory agency, partly sided with Mr. Peltz, criticizing Disney’s succession planning. Mr. Peltz additionally received the backing of Egan-Jones, one other advisory agency; it faulted Disney for unnecessarily veering into what it known as “the killing fields of the tradition wars.”
In voting for Mr. Peltz, the California Public Workers’ Retirement System, or CalPERS, which owns about 6.6 million Disney shares, mentioned the corporate would profit from “recent eyes.” It added that Mr. Peltz was “able to main wanted change in company governance.”
