So, apparently, there’s some drama brewing in the magical world of Disney! Blackwells Capital, one of Disney’s shareholders, has thrown some serious shade at rival Nelson Peltz and his Trian Group. Ouch!
In a sassy press release, Blackwells’ Chief Investment Officer Jason Aintabi didn’t hold back. He basically said that Peltz and his crew have been slacking in terms of coming up with ideas to fix Disney’s sinking ship. Trian wants to take over the board and have Peltz and former Disney CFO Jim Rasulo calling the shots. But Blackwells is having none of it!
You see, Trian has been trashing Disney’s course under CEO Bob Iger. They’re not happy with the way things have been going since Iger returned to the helm in 2022. They’ve criticized the company’s handling of Pixar and Marvel, and they’re not too pleased with how ESPN has been faring either. It’s safe to say that Trian is not throwing any “happily ever after” parties for Disney.
But Blackwells is firing back, and they’re not pulling any punches. Aintabi called out Peltz for not offering a single strategic idea that would actually benefit shareholders. And get this, Peltz even said that he wants someone without media experience on the Disney board! Um, hello? Disney is a media giant! They need people who know what they’re doing in the media world, not someone who’s clueless about it.
Blackwells, on the other hand, has nominated three of its own candidates for Disney’s board. They’ve got Craig Hatkoff, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival; Jessica Schell, a former big-shot studio executive; and Leah Solivan, who used to run a tech firm called TaskRabbit. Now that’s a power trio!
But wait, there’s more! Blackwells also had something to say about Disney cozying up to shareholder ValueAct. They’re not impressed with the information-sharing agreement. Aintabi basically said that showering one shareholder with exclusive information is only going to make things worse. Can’t say they’re wrong there!
Disney, of course, is fighting back. The company is urging shareholders to ignore both Trian’s and Blackwells’ nominees. They’ve got their own slate of 12 nominees, including rockstar CEO Bob Iger himself. They’re not about to let anyone else take control of the kingdom!
You know what all this means, right? The upcoming annual shareholder meeting is going to be one for the books! It’s gonna be a showdown between shareholders and management, like something out of a Disney movie. The last time things got this heated was back in 2004 when former CEO Michael Eisner got a big fat “no confidence” vote. And you know what happened next? Yep, Bob Iger took the throne. Will history repeat itself? Only time will tell, my friends!
