Disney has been involved in a heated proxy battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz, who was petitioning to get multiple seats on the Company’s Board of Directors.

Trian Partners nominated Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to be elected to the Board, but Disney has made it clear they don’t endorse either candidate. It all came to a head during a vote at Disney’s 2024 Annual Shareholders Meeting, and now, we finally know who has come out as the victor in this long, drawn-out battle. 

Disney has made it clear that the board did NOT endorse the nominations of Nelson Peltz and James Rasulo put forth by Trian Fund Management, L.P. and its affiliates, led by Nelson Peltz and supported by former Disney executive Isaac Perlmutter (collectively, the “Trian Group”). Instead, Disney had nominated twelve of its own candidates to the board, with shareholders being urged to vote one way or another.

Specifically, Disney recommended that shareholders vote for re-election of its current board:

• Mary T. Barra
• Safra A. Catz
• Amy L. Chang
• D. Jeremy Darroch
• Carolyn N. Everson
• Michael B.G. Froman
• James P. Gorman
• Robert A. Iger
• Maria Elena Lagomasino
• Calvin R. McDonald
• Mark G. Parker
• Derica W. Rice

According to Disney, these 12 nominees “reflect Disney’s ongoing commitment to a strong Board focused on the long-term performance of the company, strategic growth initiatives, the succession planning process, and increasing shareholder value.”

Disney and CEO Bob Iger have urged stock owners to vote against Peltz and the Blackwell group using the help of cartoon allies and even Walt Disney’s grandchildren, but the April 3rd vote is what we had been waiting for.

During today’s meeting, shareholders voted in support of Disney’s current board and the 12 directors it recommended. You can learn more about those 12 directors HERE.

Disney announced that the shareholders voted in support of the Disney board’s slate and against Peltz and the Trian group as well as the Blackwell group. They reported that the current board’s recommendations won “by a substantial margin.” CNBC is reporting that the vote was decisive, with Peltz losing a seat on the board by a two-to-one margin, and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, who had joined Peltz’s campaign, lost by a nearly five-to-one margin.

Peltz was given three minutes during the meeting webcast to present his case. In his remarks, Peltz said, “It is undeniable that shareholders have suffered over the last few years.” He acknowleged Disney’s stock price has rapidly risen in the first few months of 2024, and appeared to take some credit, saying, “We are proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this Company on value creation and good governance.”

Shortly before his remarks were cut because he had exceeded his time limit, Peltz said that regardless of the vote’s outcome, “Trian will be watching.”

After the voting, Iger said, “With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we’re eager to focus 100% of our attention to our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers.”

The results released by the company today are preliminary. Final results of today’s shareholder votes will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within the next four business days.

Following the business portion of the meeting, the webcast continued with a pre-recorded video of Bob Iger from Disneyland — updating shareholders on company projects in four key areas of focus for The Walt Disney Company:

• Re-invigorating creativity
• Leading streaming businesses to profitability
• Positioning ESPN for future growth
• Turbocharging expansion in Disney’s Experiences business

Iger said the company is “executing at a rapid pace” and with “tremendous optimism.”

He showed an inclusive sneak peek of the new movie Inside Out 2, coming to theaters on June 14th.

As well as new looks at Moana 2 — coming to theaters in November 2024 — and an exclusive clip from the new season of TV series The Bear.

Iger reminded the audience of plans to introduce an extremely interactive digital platform for ESPN — one that would combine sports broadcasts with sports betting and e-commerce opportunities. He briefly touched on the partnership with Epic Games, which will bring Disney IP into the Fortnite video game universe.

Then Iger turned his attention to discussing Disney’s Parks, and showed concept art for a possible Pandora addition to Disneyland. “We have one Avatar-based land, Pandora, in Florida. We’re going to put a second one in California,” he said.

This expansion would be based on the assumption that the Anaheim City Council will approve the DisneylandForward project at a meeting later this month. Disney needs municipal authorities to approve re-zoning and land-use matters in order to carry-out a proposed expansion at its California resort.

Iger also showed footage of new lands that have opened recently at Disney’s international parks — including World of Frozen in Hong Kong Disneyland (and the upcoming World of Frozen in Disneyland Paris), and Zootopia at Shanghai Disneyland, as well as the new Fantasy Springs expansion opening this summer in Tokyo DisneySea.

One big announcement we were hoping for — and yeah, we’ll say it, expecting — from today’s meeting was an opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disney World. However, there wasn’t any mention of Disney World projects at all. We are seeing construction walls come down, ride testing with Disney World Cast Members, and we’re getting looks at new characters coming to the ride, which is slated to open this summer.

We’re expecting an opening date announcement any day now (and perhaps some Cast Member, Disney Vacation Club member, or Annual Passholder previews), so keep following us here at DFB for more!

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What do you think of the result in the Disney proxy fight? Tell us in the comments.