{"id":198962,"date":"2023-12-09T07:59:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T11:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=198962"},"modified":"2023-12-09T12:17:42","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T16:17:42","slug":"disneys-greatest-show-ever-made-is-going-on-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=198962","title":{"rendered":"

Disney’s Greatest Show Ever Made Is Going On Right Now…..<\/b><\/h1>"},"content":{"rendered":"

…And Its An Epic Public Brawl
\nBetween The Rich Powerful
\nConservative And Liberal Jewish
\nFactions Who Own And Operate
\nThe Company Of Pedovores<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\n

Ike\u2019s Revenge? Ousted Marvel Mogul Looms As Disney Proxy Fight Heats Up<\/h1>\n

Disney says a “personal agenda” against Bob\u202fIger by ousted exec Ike Perlmutter is fueling an activist investor\u2019s new attempt to reshape the company\u2019s board and grab more seats.<\/h3>\n

BY ALEX WEPRIN
\nHollywood Reporter<\/p>\n

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PHOTO- ILLUSTRATION: PERLMUTTER: AP PHOTO\/SUSAN WALSH. IGER: ALLEN BEREZOVSKY\/GETTY IMAGES. AVENGERS: \u00a9 MARVEL\/ \u00a9 WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES \/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION. MONEY: ADOBE STOCK.<\/cite><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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The last time Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian Partners waged a proxy battle against\u00a0Disney<\/a>, less than a year ago, they laid out their concerns in a PowerPoint presentation. Disney needed to cut costs, Trian said. It needed to bring back its dividend and get its free cash flow back on track. Disney was \u201cover-earning\u201d at its theme parks, gouging guests and not investing enough.<\/p>\n

Bob Iger\u2019s return as CEO in November 2022 and the stock surge that followed ultimately called Peltz off. \u201cThis was a great win for all the shareholders. Management at Disney now plans to do everything that we wanted them to do,\u201d Peltz told CNBC in February, announcing that he was dropping his proxy fight.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Disney did tackle essentially all of Peltz\u2019s concerns. The company has cut $7.5\u202fbillion in costs and laid off thousands of employees. It is bringing back its dividend, and says free cash flow will hit pre-COVID levels this fiscal year. The company announced a $60\u202fbillion investment in its theme parks business, suggesting that it wants to grow it by adding more, not by charging more.<\/p>\n

And yet, months later, Peltz is back. And while he was looking for only one board seat last time, now he is looking for at least three, and possibly more, sources tell\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The question on the mind of Iger and other Disney execs \u2014 not to mention much of Wall Street \u2014 is what Trian\u2019s case will be. Exactly what argument Trian, whose stake in Disney is valued at roughly $3\u00a0billion, intends to make (beyond the activist track record of the 81-year-old Peltz) is unclear. Yes, Disney\u2019s share price continues to lag, though it is hardly alone among media companies this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m certain that the board will hear them out in terms of what their plans are, what their ideas are,\u201d Iger said at the Dealbook Summit on Nov.\u202f29, adding that he made it \u201cvery clear\u201d to Disney\u2019s board that \u201cwe have to obviously contend with them in some form, but don\u2019t force me to take my eye off the ball and lose focus in terms of managing the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trian said in a statement that it was offered a chance to meet with the board, but that it was not proactively offered any seats, forcing it to take its case to shareholders. One of those Disney shareholders, investment firm Ancora Holdings Group, backed Trian Dec.\u202f5, saying Peltz \u201cwould make a fantastic addition to Disney\u2019s board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iger said the company has high standards for its board members, which will number 12 at the next annual meeting, and that the board takes the process of adding members seriously, and doesn\u2019t just offer them to any askers. Disney, for its part, named Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch to its board in November. Both will be up for election at the company\u2019s next annual meeting.<\/p>\n

Disney has long been willing to deal with activists. In fact, it is dealing with another one now: ValueAct. While the San Francisco-based investment firm has a reputation for being active, sources say its stake is based on what it sees as the intrinsic value of Disney\u2019s theme parks, rather than a desire to shake things up. It is not expected to seek a board seat.<\/p>\n

And the company dealt with Dan Loeb\u2019s Third Point in 2020 and 2022. Sources noted that both times Loeb laid out \u201cdetailed\u201d strategic plans, something Trian has thus far not done. In 2022, Disney added former Meta executive Carolyn Everson to its board at Third Point\u2019s urging.<\/p>\n

Another activist investor and Disney shareholder, Blackwells Capital, believes that defending against Peltz\u2019s proxy fight will cost Disney shareholders \u201cupwards of $50\u202fmillion and serve only as a value-destructive fog for Disney\u2019s leadership and board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMindless, drum-beating activism is not the right strategy for shareholders,\u201d Blackwells chief investment officer Jason Aintabi says. \u201cDisney\u2019s Board is acting in the best interests of all shareholders and should be allowed the time to focus on driving value at one of America\u2019s most iconic companies without this fatuous sideshow.<\/p>\n

But Peltz\u2019s effort does have its share of supporters. Bill Ackman, the influential hedge fund manager and founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, was seen at the Dealbook Summit carefully listening to Iger, Elon Musk and other interviewees. Iger\u2019s remarks about Disney pulling its ads from Musk\u2019s X (Twitter) seemed particularly troubling to Ackman, who has expressed disapproval of \u201cDisney [caving] to public pressure\u201d regarding\u00a0X while investing heavily in TikTok.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Bob Iger would carefully examine the facts, he would likely continue to advertise on X, but Disney caves to public pressure rather than do the right thing,\u201d Ackman wrote on X. \u201cMeanwhile Disney invests heavily on TikTok, likely alongside videos of kids teaching other teenagers to be anorexic and worse. I am sure Nelson Peltz can fix this when he joins the Disney board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looming over it all is Isaac \u201cIke\u201d Perlmutter. Peltz\u2019s friend and neighbor in Palm Beach, Perlmutter was \u201cterminated\u201d as chairman of\u00a0Marvel<\/a>\u00a0by Disney this year, the company notes. Perlmutter has pledged his shares in Disney to Peltz, and they comprise nearly 80\u202fpercent of Trian\u2019s stake, giving him more financial skin in the game than Peltz. On Nov.\u00a030, Disney cited Perlmutter\u2019s \u201cpersonal agenda\u201d against Iger, noting that his interests \u201cmay be different than that of all other shareholders.\u201d<\/p>\n

While a source close to Perlmutter previously told\u00a0THR\u00a0<\/em>that the former Marvel chief was \u201cnot involved\u201d in Peltz\u2019s new effort beyond pledging his shares, an SEC filing from Trian confirms that Perlmutter is a \u201cparticipant in the proxy solicitation.\u201d In Trian\u2019s last proxy fight, it only alluded to Perlmutter\u2019s role (it referred to him as a \u201cthird party\u201d known to both Disney and Peltz). Disney made some adjustments to its bylaws in November, which, while largely technical, could shine a light on just how involved Perlmutter is in Peltz\u2019s board play, with enhanced disclosure requirements.<\/p>\n

During\u00a0his 14-year run<\/a>\u00a0at Disney, Perlmutter\u2019s influence waned as the years went on, and by the time he was let go, his oversight was restricted largely to consumer products. The reclusive mogul, rarely photographed, was pictured with Donald Trump at the former president\u2019s Florida retreat in 2016. In his 2019 memoir, Iger wrote that Perlmutter was opposed to Marvel projects like\u00a0Black Panther\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Captain Marvel\u00a0<\/em>(he allegedly didn\u2019t think a Black or female superhero movie would sell toys), and later said that Perlmutter wanted to fire Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, forcing Iger to step in and move Marvel Studios under the larger theatrical umbrella.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that meddling while leading Marvel that has some worried, should Trian\u2019s endeavor succeed. \u201cThere is no silent partner in Ike,\u201d one source warned of Perlmutter. \u201cYou\u2019re inviting Trump onto the board. He has proxied his vote to Nelson. It\u2019s so dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim Masters contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story first appeared in the Dec. 7 issue of\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter\u00a0magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

___
\nhttps:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/ike-perlmutter-bob-iger-nelson-peltz-disney-activist-fight-1235715097\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…And Its An Epic Public Brawl Between The Rich Powerful Conservative And Liberal Jewish Factions Who Own And Operate The Company Of Pedovores\u00a0 Ike\u2019s Revenge? Ousted Marvel Mogul Looms As Disney Proxy Fight Heats Up Disney says a “personal agenda” … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-198962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=198962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198962\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=198962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=198962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=198962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}