Nelson Peltz has reentered the Disney story like a villain even Walt himself couldn’t have dreamed up.

After throwing his name into the ring for a position on Disney’s Board of Directors, Peltz initiated a proxy battle for the spot which ultimately ended before it began, with Peltz pulling out of the fight and declaring his support for Disney and CEO Bob Iger. But, with Disney stock prices at their lowest point in nearly 10 years, Peltz is back — and it sounds like he isn’t too happy.

Over the past year, Activist investor Nelson Peltz and Trian Partners (Peltz is CEO of Trian Partners) began pushing for Peltz to have a seat on Disney’s Board of Directors before Peltz was even an investor in Disney. Peltz shared quite a few criticisms of the Walt Disney Company — notably CEO succession, poor financial strategy (especially when it comes to streaming), and not enough accountability with capital allocation.

But, that all changed after the first-quarter earnings call of Fiscal Year 2023 when Peltz suddenly declared that all was now copacetic between him and Disney. Shortly after, the proxy battle was over and Nelson Peltz was but a distant memory — until now.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Peltz has increased his stake in The Walt Disney Company, with his Trian Fund Management having accumulated more than $2.5 billion in shares. Not only that, but Peltz is reportedly planning to push for one or more seats on Disney’s Board of Directors yet again.

Peltz and Trian are one of Disney’s largest investors and it’s expected that the company will be requesting multiple seats on the board, including one for Peltz, per “people familiar with the matter.”

If Disney says no as it has in the past, Trian could nominate directors to be voted on at the Disney Shareholders meeting being held next spring, thus starting the battle all over again. Disney’s window for shareholder nominations is between December 5th and January 4th.

After Peltz made his initial bid, Disney’s Board of Directors issued a notice on their website and sent a letter to shareholders on the matter. In their notice, the Board shared that they are “focused on delivering long-term sustainable value” and that they do NOT endorse Nelson Peltz (or his son, who was running as an alternate).

In fact, the board took it so far as to say that the “election of either Mr. Peltz or his son would threaten the strategic management of Disney during a period of important change in the media landscape.” But, things haven’t totally been looking up for Disney shareholders recently.

Disney stock prices have taken a dive lately, hitting their lowest point since 2014. On the morning of October 5th, Disney stock (NYSE: DIS)prices were trading just below $80 per share at $79.24. According to data from Google Stocks, it was priced even lower at market close on October 4th at around $78.73.

Disney stock prices have steadily been decreasing year-to-date, as you can see in the graph below. At the beginning of 2023, prices were well over $100, and as it stands now Disney is lucky if they break $80.

It’s Peltz’s belief that Disney shares are “significantly undervalued” and the company needs a more focused board that is aligned with shareholders. In recent months, Trian has increased its stake in Disney to more than 30 million shares — a large increase from about 6.4 million shares it held at the end of Q2 of FY2023.

A reason for the increase hasn’t been revealed by Peltz or Trian, but it does come after Bob Iger shared that Disney’s traditional cable assets “may not be core” to the company’s values, hinting that a potential sale could be on the way for ABC, ESPN, FX, Disney Channel, and more.

It’s interesting to note that Trian has a history of “encouraging changes” at companies it invests in, like selling underperforming divisions — something Disney and Iger have been increasingly interested in doing as of late. It’s unclear whether or not this is the end goal for Trian, but what is clear is that we haven’t heard the last of Nelson Peltz.

An official bid for a seat — or seats — on Disney’s Board of Directors has not yet been made by Peltz or Trian, and it’s possible we won’t until shareholder nominations officially begin later in December. As of now, Disney hasn’t commented on the potential for another proxy battle.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on this situation as it develops, so be sure to stay tuned to DFB for the latest.

Who Is Nelson Peltz and Why Do People Care What He Says About Disney?

 

What do you think will happen with Peltz and Disney’s Board? Tell us in the comments.

The post NEWS: Bob Iger’s Number One Villain Is BACK — And He’s Pushing for BIG Changes first appeared on the disney food blog.