A long-time Disney investor is signaling that he wants more control over the direction of the media company.
Activist investor Nelson Peltz is seeking board seats after upping his already significant stake in Disney, according to the Wall Street Journal. This is the second time this year that the co-founder of Trian Fund sought to have more of a say, but dropped an earlier attempt in February after returning CEO Bob Iger implemented a series of cost-cutting measures.
Peltz is a well-known activist investor and co-founder of the Trian Fund. The firm has a history of taking positions in large companies and advocating for changes to improve shareholder value. The fund is one of Disney’s largest investors, with a stake of 9.4 million shares valued at more than $2.5 billion. Peltz is reportedly seeking a seat for himself and multiple other fund members on the board of directors.
Trian declined to comment at this time. Disney was not available for comment.
Peltz first attempted to get more of a role on the board at the beginning of the year. During the dispute in February, Disney said electing Peltz to the board “would threaten the strategic management of Disney during a period of important change in the media landscape,” according to Deadline.
After settling the dispute, Trian said it was “pleased with the role” it was able to play in enticing the board to take “decisive actions which we believe will lead to better financial results.” At the time, Peltz withdrew his name as a nomination for the board of directors to focus on “creating long-term shareholder value without the distraction of a proxy contest.”
Iger came out of retirement last November, regaining control of the company while reorganizing operations and cutting costs. Peltz had taken his name out of the running for a board seat as Iger said Disney would comply with his agenda.
“We congratulate Disney and Bob Iger on their recently announced operating initiatives, which are a win for all shareholders and broadly align with our thinking,” said Trian on February 9. “We are pleased with the role that Trian was able to play in helping to focus the Board to take decisive actions we believe will lead to better financial results.”
Now, it appears the famed investor is once again pushing to become one of the deciding voices in the company he holds so much stake in.