Daily Mail: Activist investor Nelson Peltz nominates himself to Disney's board

Story from Daily Mail:

Activist investor Nelson Peltz has nominated himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to the board of the entertainment giant's directors, slamming CEO Bob Iger as 'underperforming.'

Peltz' firm Trian Fund Management, which owns about $2.5 billion worth of Disney shares, submitted the filing on Thursday, sparking a second proxy war in the company in just two years.

Speaking on CNBC, Peltz said: 'This board - from Bob to every independent director - has underperformed the S&P on every measure.'

Disney has so far rejected Peltz' moves, to which he said: 'They said I have no media experience — I don’t claim to have any... But I will tell you, I don’t think they have much media experience.'

Trian's Thursday filing did not reveal which directors Peltz and Rasulo want to replace, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The names will come at a later date.

Peltz had announced his plan to nominate himself to Disney's board last month.

'As Disney’s largest active shareholder, we can no longer sit idly by as the incumbent directors and their hand-picked replacements stand in the way of necessary change, and peers and competitors continue to outperform,' he said at the time.

In its Thursday filing, Trian repeated its concern over Disney's less than stellar stock performance, and said it plans to 'align management pay with performance' - and called out Iger's $30million pay package last year while stock continued to underperform.

The firm also said it will push Disney to 'target and achieve Netflix-like margins of 15 to 20 percent by FY 2027' for its streaming service and 'finally complete a successful CEO succession.'

Moreover, Trian intends to conduct a 'board-led review of creative processes and structure to restore leadership accountability' at the company and create a 'clear path' for ESPN and the theme parks.

Peltz's first proxy war last January called on Disney to 'restore the magic' amid criticism the media conglomerate had become too political.

He withdrew from the initial fight after Iger unveiled a cost-cutting plan involving 7,000 layoffs and restructuring to save around $5.5 billion.

However, Disney shares plummeting by 12.5 percent over the last year has prompted the activist investor to renew his bid for power.

In October, Disney shares tumbled to record lows of $78.73 and are at $94.42 on Thursday.

Trian Investment Fund holds about 33 million shares, making it one of the largest investors out of Disney's 1.8 billion shares.

Meanwhile Iger is said to be 'overwhelmed and exhausted' after extending his contract for three more years while battling dropping share prices and challenges to his leadership.

In September, Iger revealed the company will 'quiet the noise' around cultural issues because it has shown to be bad for business.

The company has been stuck in a legal battle with the Florida government and Ron DeSantis after former CEO Bob Chapek criticized the so called 'Don't Say Gay' bill.

DeSantis targeted Disney's special tax district, replaced the board of it with his allies and led the charge to change the name from the Reedy District to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Before the DeSantis-picked board took control, Disney created development contract for future investments. Those were thrown-out by the new board, which led to a federal lawsuit.

Disney has since dropped a massive chunk of its federal lawsuit against the Florida Governor.

Iger has extended his contract until 2026 and hinted that he will re-retire at that point, once a proper successor has been found and named.

Peltz's daughter, Nicola, married Brooklyn Beckham last year and has been accused of having been a 'nightmare bride' in a new documentary about her bitter dispute with her wedding planners.