Disney Sets Date For Annual Shareholder Meeting Amid Proxy Fight

Disney has finally unveiled the date for its annual meeting of shareholders, a virtual event to be held at 10 a.m. PT Monday, April 3.

It’s been a hotly awaited bit of information amid a flurry of SEC filings as activist investor Nelson Peltz of Trian Group is looking for a seat on the board in opposition to the company’s own slate.

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Trian is recommending stockholders vote against one director Disney endorses, Michael Froman, and elect Peltz instead. The activist has taken issue with the company’s succession planning, among other things he’d like to see improved, just as former longtime chief Bob Iger is back as CEO, having replaced Bob Chapek, and Disney prepares to announce quarterly earnings on Wednesday, and possibly other news from restructuring to layoffs.

The meetings, for Disney’s fiscal year which ends in September, are usually in early- to mid-March.

Trian says Peltz’s experience makes him better positioned than Froman “to help the Board enhance accountability, align executive compensation with shareholders’ interests, plan for leadership succession, address operational challenges and improve capital allocation practices.”

Disney calls Froman’s contributions invaluable and says that having Peltz on the board “would threaten the strategic management of Disney during a period of important change in the media landscape.”

This is a zero-sum game since there are 11 directors and now 12 nominees for shareholders to vote on at the meeting. Each side is or will be sending out ballots and supporting material shortly. The 11 candidates with the most votes win.

Trian is not contesting Iger’s CEO role or the current configuration of the company but see Peltz as offering “new perspective to improve performance” of Disney’s powerful set of assets following some stumbles and a sagging stock price. It is waging an agressive battle with a dedicated website called Restore The Magic

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