Nelson Peltz Rips Disney’s Spree Of Earnings-Timed News As “Spaghetti Against The Wall”, Guarantees Victory In Proxy Fight
deadline.comActivist Disney investor Nelson Peltz, whose Trian Capital is at war with CEO Bob Iger, blasted the company’s spree of earning-timed announcements last week as “spaghetti against the wall.” He also guaranteed victory in the proxy fight. “With the stock waning and Disney facing another proxy contest, Disney appears to again be trying to distract shareholders with what we see as a fanciful tale, claiming it has ‘turned the corner and entered a new era,'” Trian wrote in a letter to shareholders Wednesday. “And with that, Disney announced a slew of new promises and ideas — most still in the process of being developed — hoping that shareholders would just believe all was well and improving.” Perhaps not coincidentally, as the Trian letter was hitting the wire, Disney announced Fantastic Four casting and release date news, with the Marvel property immediately becoming a trending topic on social media.
Trian is seeking to have Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo elected to the company’s board of directors. Disney formally rebuffed their request to be put forward as officially sanctioned nominees, so the matter will be put to a vote at its April 3 shareholder meeting.
Two other investment firms have also been rattling cages ahead of the meeting, but Trian, which has waged successful proxy battles against Procter & Gamble and other companies, has been the most vocal.
Former Marvel chief Ike Perlmutter has endorsed the Trian effort and enabled it to leverage his shares in the fight. The letter singled out one move in what it called the company’s “spaghetti-against-the-wall plan”: a $1.5 billion investment in Fortnite maker Epic Games.
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