Activist investor Nelson Peltz has gained crucial support in his proxy battle for a seat on Disney's (DIS) board. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has announced its endorsement of Peltz, advising shareholders to vote in favor of granting him a board seat ahead of their upcoming shareholder meeting on April 3rd.
Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal breaks down the details, providing insights into other investors vying for seats.
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Editor's note: This article was written by Angel Smith
Video Transcript
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JOSH LIPTON: Taking a look now at a trending ticker of the day, Disney's proxy fight with activist Nelson Peltz. Heating up, Peltz winning a key backing from proxy advisory firm, institutional shareholder services, otherwise known as ISS. So Julie, yes, ISS saying shareholders should vote for Nelson Peltz at that shareholder meeting coming up on April 3rd. So now we got a showdown because Glass Lewis said shareholders should support the company backed slate of nominees.
But ISIS saying no, Mr. Peltz has the experience given his history and other boards best position they say to bring a shareholder perspective.
JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, it's interesting the shares are not moving much today. And makes sense because at this point we're not going to know what the outcome is until April 3rd or shortly thereafter if the votes aren't all counted right away. So that tracks here. It's interesting because there were some other folks who are also supporting Peltz. It's companies who were previously targeted by him. Who said, oh, he's just-- he's a big old pussycat, he's great to work with.
They didn't say that exactly. But that--
JOSH LIPTON: That was the gist.
JULIE HYMAN: That he seemed scary from far away. But once he gets up close, he's still a delight to work with because effectively what they said.
JOSH LIPTON: Well, let's get to Yahoo Finance senior reporter Alexandra Canal for more on this. So Ali, what did you make of this headline?
ALEXANDRA CANAL: This is pretty surprising, considering what we heard from Glass Lewis earlier this week. And it certainly a big win for Nelson Peltz when you think about such an influential proxy advisory firm coming out in support of him. ISS saying that Peltz could be additive to the board, considering he's a shareholder-- a significant shareholder at the company.
In the report, ISS saying, quote "Peltz with his considerable experience on other boards and fiduciary duties owed to a large shareholder group appears best positioned to bring a shareholder perspective to the board. Now what's notable here? Is that ISIS said that shareholders should not vote for trian's other nominee, which is Jay Rasulo. He's the former CFO at Disney. And they said just Peltz.
They also advised shareholders against voting for Blackwell's, not three nominees. That's the other proxy fight Disney's dealing with and that they should withhold their vote against current Disney board member Maria Elena Lagomasino. So the thought being there that Peltz would replace Maria Elena.
But going back to earlier this week, Glass Lewis which again supports Disney's current board, they referred to CEO Bob Iger's initiatives at the company and that he's really seemed to turn around the company at this point in time. ISIS did acknowledge. That they said, look, we understand that some shareholders might be fine with the way Disney is operating right now. However, their biggest concern stems from succession and all the drama that happened in 2020.
JOSH LIPTON: Which is Peltz's concern too and one of them.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: Which is Peltz is concern too. So in their view, they think Peltz could be someone that perhaps could bring a fresh perspective and could help with succession because that seems to be the biggest overhang of this company. But you were just talking about how Peltz has received some support. Disney has some support as well. Jamie Dimon, George Lucas, the widow of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs remember was a very close friend of Iger.
So we'll see, April 3rd is that shareholder meeting. I think this proxy battle is not going to get resolved before then I think at this point Nelson Peltz wants to take it to the finish line. So we'll have to see what happens.
JULIE HYMAN: We will. Thanks so much Ali. I appreciate it.
