Newly Appointed Disney Chairman Is Little More Than A Rubber Stamp, Says Activist Investor Nelson Peltz
Trian Partners founder and CEO Nelson Peltz said that the Walt Disney Co's (NYSE: DIS) board change would shift the company's direction, saying the new chairman is little more than a rubber stamp for newly returned CEO Bob Iger.
On Thursday, Mr. Peltz and his hedge fund Trian Fund Management turned up the heat in their proxy battle to counter his push.
Disney on Wednesday replaced its board chair Susan Arnold with Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) executive chairman Mark Parker, and the size of the board will be reduced to 11 members.
Peltz thinks Mr. Parker and the newly-returned Mr. Iger are too friendly for Mr. Parker to be truly objective, Wall Street Journal reported.
Also, Parker has too many demands on his time and attention, given that he still serves as Nike's executive chairman.
Disney might fail to convince Mr. Peltz that the company is on the right track, meaning Mr. Iger will face a challenging path as Disney struggles with a potential recession, a prolonged stock price slump, rising costs for content, potential layoffs, and stiff competition.
"There are still several current directors and members of management who oversaw and approved some of Disney's worst corporate governance and strategic failures," Trian wrote.
Price Action: DIS shares are down 0.81% at $99 during the premarket session on the last check Friday.
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