The Walt Disney Co.’s board battle with Nelson Peltz and his Trian Partners now has an end date: April 3, 2024.
That’s the day that Disney has scheduled its annual shareholder meeting, in which Peltz’s Trian and another activist Blackwells Capital have submitted their own names to join Disney’s board.
Trian is targeting Disney directors Michael B.G. Froman and Maria Elena Lagomasino, and recommending Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo. Blackwells is nominating Craig Hatkoff, Jessica Schell and Leah Solivan.
Disney’s proxy is largely the same as the preliminary version of the filing last month, which included CEO Bob Iger’s 2023 pay package of $31.6 million, as well as a formal rejection of the Trian nominees.
Now that Disney has set April 3 as the meeting date, the company — and Trian and Blackwells — will have a little over two months to make their respective cases to shareholders. Third-party firms like Institutional Shareholder Services are also expected to weigh in on what shareholders should so, and their recommendations may carry weight with firms like Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street and other institutional investors.
More to come.
