Disney just secured victory in its proxy battle against Nelson Peltz

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Written on Apr 3, 2024

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Retail investors largely favoured chief executive Bob Iger.
Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo will no longer join $DIS board.
Disney stock is currently up well over 30% year-to-date.

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Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) just secured victory against Nelson Peltz. Its shares are still in the red at writing.

Retail investors largely favoured CEO Bob Iger

On Wednesday, shareholders voted in favour of reelecting the entire board of Disney.

Peltz and Jay Rasulo – former chief financial officer of the mass media behemoth, therefore, will no longer join its board.

Retail investors voted largely in favour of CEO Bob Iger, as per sources that talked to CNBC on condition of anonymity on Wednesday. Both Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo lost to Maria Elena Lagomasino by a fair margin.

About 65% of the Disney shareholders voted this year versus 63% in 2023, the sources added. $DIS is currently up well over 30% versus the start of 2024.

How much did Disney spend on the proxy battle?

Blackwells – another activist investor who wanted a seat on Disney’s board lost as well on Wednesday. According to chief executive Bob Iger:

With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we’re eager to focus 100% of our attention on our priorities: growth and value creation for shareholders and creative excellence for customers.

Disney spent roughly $40 million on its proxy battle with Nelson Peltz. But it came out victorious after two of its largest shareholders: Blackrock and Vanguard voted in its favour today.

In February, $DIS said it narrowed its DTC loss to just $138 million in the first quarter. The New York listed firm also raised dividend to please shareholders at the time as Invezz reported here.