Trian Signals Impending Proxy Battle with Disney

By Dean Seal

Trian Fund Management appears to be preparing a challenge to Walt Disney's latest director appointments after the entertainment giant rejected the firm's bid to get its founder, Nelson Peltz, on the board.

The activist hedge-fund firm said Thursday that Disney's board has offered to meet with Trian but turned down its request for board representation.

As a result, Trian "intends to take our case for change directly to the shareholders," the firm said in a statement.

Disney's board appointed Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch as new directors Wednesday night, moves that haven't quelled Trian and Peltz's latest plan to take a run at the company.

Trian said Thursday that while Gorman and Darroch were an improvement from the status quo, the new directors won't "restore investor confidence or address the root cause behind the significant value destruction and missteps that this board has overseen."

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that Peltz had grown his stake in Disney and was planning to see multiple board seats. Trian previously launched a short-lived proxy campaign against Disney about a year ago that was scrapped when Chief Executive Bob Iger announced $5.5 billion in budget cuts and cut about 7,000 positions from the company's payroll.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 30, 2023 11:13 ET (16:13 GMT)

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