Disney braces for boardroom battle
Activist investor Nelson Peltz last week bid for a seat on the board of Walt Disney Co, stirring the pot for what appears to be a boardroom battle brewing at the Magic Kingdom.
This comes after company veteran Bob Iger returned to the helm at the Marvel-parent to help a push for profitability at its streaming business, Disney+.
The company in response said on Tuesday that Peltz lacks the skills and experience to guide the company.
Peltz’s Trian Fund, after Third Point’s Daniel Loeb, have pushed the company to make changes after the pandemic crushed its parks business and forced it to increase expenditure to weed out competition in the streaming industry.
Here is what happened since Iger retired in 2020:
Feb. 25, 2020: Iger retires after 15 years as CEO, handing the reins to Disney Parks head Bob Chapek; Iger assumes post of executive chairman
Article continues after this advertisementSept. 29, 2020: Disney says it will lay off about 28,000 employees due to coronavirus hit
Article continues after this advertisementOct. 7, 2020: Activist investor Daniel Loeb urges Disney to forgo paying a dividend and use the cash to make and buy more programming for Disney+
Oct. 12, 2020: Disney restructures its media and entertainment businesses to accelerate growth of Disney+
Feb. 28, 2022: Disney pauses film releases in Russia over Ukraine invasion
March 4, 2022: Disney says it will offer a cheaper, ad-supported version of Disney+
March 10, 2022 Disney pauses all business in Russia
May 16, 2022: Third Point liquidates its position in Disney during the first quarter, two years after the hedge fund first invested and began urging the media company to spend more aggressively on itsstreaming platform
May 16, 2022: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says he wants the state to take control of Disney‘s special district when it is scheduled to be dissolved in June 2023
June 9, 2022: Chief Executive Bob Chapek announces a major leadership shift, promoting Dana Walden to chairman of general entertainment content
June 28, 2022: Disney board unanimously votes to extend Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek’s contract for three years
Aug. 15, 12022: Third Point discloses a stake of roughly $1 billion and said it plans to push the media company to make a string of changes
Sept. 11, 2022: Third Point’s Daniel Loeb backs off from pushing Walt Disney Co to spin off ESPN
Sept. 14, 2022: Comcast Corp Chief Executive Brian Roberts signals to Disney the company will seek market value for its minority stake in Hulu
Sept. 30, 2022: Disney announces a truce with activist investor Third Point, saying it would appoint tech and media veteran Carolyn Everson to the board
Nov. 8, 2022: Disney reports higher streaming customers, but high costs disappoint investors
Nov. 11, 2022: The company plans to freeze hiring and cut some jobs, according to a memo seen by Reuters
Nov. 21, 2022: Bob Iger returned to Disney as chief executive less than a year after he retired, in a surprise comeback
Nov. 28, 2022: Iger says one of his top priorities was to make the company’s streaming business profitable
Dec. 8, 2022: The ad-supported version of the Disney+ service launches, attracting major advertisers from different sectors
Jan. 12, 2023 : Activist investor Nelson Peltz formally launches a battle for board seat at Disney in a letter to shareholders
Jan. 17, 2023: Disney defends its board for denying Peltz a seat, saying he “lacks the skills and experience” to help the company
