Disney is taking a cue from the presidential election in an escalation of its proxy battle with Trian Partners.
The company on Monday released a slickly produced video, similar in format to a political ad, taking aim at Trian’s two Disney board nominees, Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, and highlighting the achievements of the company and CEO Bob Iger since he returned to the company.
The video opens with ominous music, as the narrator (speaking in a voice familiar to any viewer of political attack ads) wonders “What’s the harm?” in letting Peltz and Rasulo on the Disney board.
“If they succeed, Disney could suffer the same fate as other companies that they have infiltrated, such as Ge and Dupont,” he continues, referencing two infamous Peltz proxy fights as images of falling stock prices overlayed appear on the screen.
The video goes on to attack Peltz and Rasulo personally,...
The company on Monday released a slickly produced video, similar in format to a political ad, taking aim at Trian’s two Disney board nominees, Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, and highlighting the achievements of the company and CEO Bob Iger since he returned to the company.
The video opens with ominous music, as the narrator (speaking in a voice familiar to any viewer of political attack ads) wonders “What’s the harm?” in letting Peltz and Rasulo on the Disney board.
“If they succeed, Disney could suffer the same fate as other companies that they have infiltrated, such as Ge and Dupont,” he continues, referencing two infamous Peltz proxy fights as images of falling stock prices overlayed appear on the screen.
The video goes on to attack Peltz and Rasulo personally,...
- 3/11/2024
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Trian Partners is revealing more detail on its plans to shake up Disney, should founder Nelson Peltz and fellow nominee Jay Rasulo be elected to Disney’s corporate board next month.
As part of its ongoing proxy fight with Disney, Trian published a 130-page whitepaper, accusing Disney’s current board of directors of being “the root cause of Disney’s underperformance” in recent years.
But while much of the paper assigns blame to the board and reiterates many of the claims made by Trian previously, it also offers suggestions for what the company should do, and what Peltz and Rasulo would push for, should they win board seats at Disney’s April 3 annual meeting.
Among the suggestions are to “right-size” both Disney’s studio business and its linear TV networks.
“We believe that it is unlikely that Disney can realize its full potential if it refuses to sufficiently right-size expenses...
As part of its ongoing proxy fight with Disney, Trian published a 130-page whitepaper, accusing Disney’s current board of directors of being “the root cause of Disney’s underperformance” in recent years.
But while much of the paper assigns blame to the board and reiterates many of the claims made by Trian previously, it also offers suggestions for what the company should do, and what Peltz and Rasulo would push for, should they win board seats at Disney’s April 3 annual meeting.
Among the suggestions are to “right-size” both Disney’s studio business and its linear TV networks.
“We believe that it is unlikely that Disney can realize its full potential if it refuses to sufficiently right-size expenses...
- 3/4/2024
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The grandchildren of Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney are voicing their support for Bob Iger in his board seat battle against Nelson Peltz.
Two separate letters were sent to shareholders Thursday from each set of grandchildren, including Abigail Disney, who has been outspoken against recent Disney practices.
In the letter from grandchildren of Roy O. Disney, which is signed by Abigail and three others, the grandchildren outline the “magic” they experienced at the company throughout their childhoods, and say that Iger can continue that spirit at the company. Meanwhile, they call Peltz one of the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” and also one of the “villains” in a Disney story.
“Bob Iger, his management team, and the Board of Directors are faithful to this magic. They understand that the longevity of The Walt Disney Company isn’t only the result of smart business decisions; it is rooted in the...
Two separate letters were sent to shareholders Thursday from each set of grandchildren, including Abigail Disney, who has been outspoken against recent Disney practices.
In the letter from grandchildren of Roy O. Disney, which is signed by Abigail and three others, the grandchildren outline the “magic” they experienced at the company throughout their childhoods, and say that Iger can continue that spirit at the company. Meanwhile, they call Peltz one of the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” and also one of the “villains” in a Disney story.
“Bob Iger, his management team, and the Board of Directors are faithful to this magic. They understand that the longevity of The Walt Disney Company isn’t only the result of smart business decisions; it is rooted in the...
- 2/29/2024
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Should The Walt Disney Co. put all of its real estate holdings into a Reit (a “real estate investment trust”)? Should the company pour resources into virtual reality and artificial intelligence?
Blackwells Capital thinks so.
While Disney is responding to an activist investor fight from Nelson Peltz and his Trian Partners, it also fending off another push for board seats from a smaller activist firm: Blackwells Capital, run by Jason Aintabi. Blackwells filed its proxy statement Tuesday, and also included a whitepaper proposing some ideas to “transform” the company.
Disney has already urged its shareholders not to vote for Trian’s nominees Peltz and James Rasulo, and urged a vote against Blackwells nominees Leah Solivan, Jessica Schell, and Craig Hatkoff (it recruited Donald Duck’s uncle Professor Ludwig Von Drake in the fight).
But Blackwells is now targeting both Disney’s current board (for lacking members with media experience) and Trian,...
Blackwells Capital thinks so.
While Disney is responding to an activist investor fight from Nelson Peltz and his Trian Partners, it also fending off another push for board seats from a smaller activist firm: Blackwells Capital, run by Jason Aintabi. Blackwells filed its proxy statement Tuesday, and also included a whitepaper proposing some ideas to “transform” the company.
Disney has already urged its shareholders not to vote for Trian’s nominees Peltz and James Rasulo, and urged a vote against Blackwells nominees Leah Solivan, Jessica Schell, and Craig Hatkoff (it recruited Donald Duck’s uncle Professor Ludwig Von Drake in the fight).
But Blackwells is now targeting both Disney’s current board (for lacking members with media experience) and Trian,...
- 2/6/2024
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Disney, assailed by activist investors, launched a new website today called VoteDisney with a video featuring Donald Duck’s uncle and other animated creatures telling shareholders what to do to keep the company’s board of directors intact, and showing them how to do it.
“Friends, relatives and estimated chairman, you’re probably all wondering what we’re doing here today,” said Professor Ludwig Von Drake, the 1961 Disney character, leading into a voiceover that insisted, “We need you to all vote for your board … voting is easy.”
“Remember it’s important you vote only for Disney’s 12 nominees using the white proxy card. Do not vote for the Trian group or Blackwell’s nominees. Voting this year is critical no matter how many or how few shares you may own … Please vote all of your shares on all of your accounts.”
Trian group founder and CEO, activist investor Nelson Peltz,...
“Friends, relatives and estimated chairman, you’re probably all wondering what we’re doing here today,” said Professor Ludwig Von Drake, the 1961 Disney character, leading into a voiceover that insisted, “We need you to all vote for your board … voting is easy.”
“Remember it’s important you vote only for Disney’s 12 nominees using the white proxy card. Do not vote for the Trian group or Blackwell’s nominees. Voting this year is critical no matter how many or how few shares you may own … Please vote all of your shares on all of your accounts.”
Trian group founder and CEO, activist investor Nelson Peltz,...
- 2/6/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney is calling on Professor Ludwig Von Drake as a reinforcement in its board battle against Nelson Peltz and his Trian Partners.
The media and entertainment giant released an animated video Monday urging shareholders to vote, but only for the company’s preferred board members. The Austrian duck, who is uncle to Donald and an expert on many subjects in the Disney universe, guides the shareholders through the voting process that kicks off ahead of the April 3 shareholder meeting.
In the video, which also pulls in other classic Disney animation and the muses from Hercules, the voiceover repeatedly emphasizes the company’s preferred method of voting, which involves selecting its 12 nominees who appear on a white proxy card, while suggesting that voting any other way is incorrect.
“Remember, it’s important you vote only for Disney’s 12 nominees using the white proxy card. Do not vote for the Trian Group or Blackwells’ nominees,...
The media and entertainment giant released an animated video Monday urging shareholders to vote, but only for the company’s preferred board members. The Austrian duck, who is uncle to Donald and an expert on many subjects in the Disney universe, guides the shareholders through the voting process that kicks off ahead of the April 3 shareholder meeting.
In the video, which also pulls in other classic Disney animation and the muses from Hercules, the voiceover repeatedly emphasizes the company’s preferred method of voting, which involves selecting its 12 nominees who appear on a white proxy card, while suggesting that voting any other way is incorrect.
“Remember, it’s important you vote only for Disney’s 12 nominees using the white proxy card. Do not vote for the Trian Group or Blackwells’ nominees,...
- 2/5/2024
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Animator, director, producer and story artist Burny Mattinson, who joined the Walt Disney Company at the end of its first great run of films, when Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942) were new and an in-his-prime Walt Disney was just 42 years old, died today. He was 87. He was the last full-time Walt Disney Studios employee who had worked at the company when Walt Disney still ran it.
Seeing the studio’s Pinocchio at the age of six convinced Mattinson he wanted to work in animation. “Ever since I saw that film, this was my dream—to work in this business,” he recalled years later. “So I worked every day, drawing.”
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Seeing the studio’s Pinocchio at the age of six convinced Mattinson he wanted to work in animation. “Ever since I saw that film, this was my dream—to work in this business,” he recalled years later. “So I worked every day, drawing.”
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Ron DeSantis' New Book Describes Phone Call With Bob Chapek, Says Then-Disney CEO Talked Of Unprecedented Pressure To Weigh In On "Don't Say Gay" Bill Related Story Amazon, Disney Employees Petition...
- 2/27/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
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