Disney has been in the middle of a huge battle lately, but it has finally ended.

Activist investor Nelson Peltz and his company (Trian Partners) had initiated a proxy battle at the Walt Disney Company. Peltz’s goal was to get a seat on the Board of Directors at Disney to champion some of the changes he thought needed to be made within the Company. Disney had refused to add Peltz to the board despite Peltz having various meetings with them, and Disney made it clear that they did NOT support Peltz’s move to encourage shareholders to vote for him to grab a seat from another director. One reporter even called this proxy situation Bob Iger’s “fight for the future of Disney.” But it seems the fight is now over.

While many expected that the Nelson Peltz drama would not end until the shareholders voted and the results were released at the shareholder meeting on April 3rd, 2023, it seems the situation has changed.

CEO Bob Iger spoke with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street earlier discussing Trian Partners and Peltz’s attempt to get on the Board. But the situation has swiftly changed.

.@Disney CEO Bob Iger discusses Trian Partners CEO Nelson Peltz's efforts to join $DIS board and the ensuing proxy fight. $DIS pic.twitter.com/LsvvacrqBF

— Squawk on the Street (@SquawkStreet) February 9, 2023

Peltz later called into the show to tell Jim Cramer that the proxy fight is OVER. Peltz noted that his dad once told him you can only win once. According to Peltz, “this was a great win for all the shareholders.” He said that the management at Disney now plans to do everything Peltz’s group wanted them to do. He said they “wish the very best to Bob” and the Board, and noted that they will be watching and rooting for them.

 

Trian Partners founder Nelson Peltz calls into the show to tell @jimcramer that the $DIS proxy fight is over. pic.twitter.com/P3X0SJLDZX

— Squawk on the Street (@SquawkStreet) February 9, 2023

 

This news comes after Disney made some big announcements in its earnings report and earnings call for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023. Included in those announcements was, importantly, news that Iger would be restructuring part of the Walt Disney Company into 3 new segments. Iger also announced that there would be 7,000 jobs cut at the Company, the Company would be looking to cut around $5.5 billion in costs, and Iger would be really focusing on streaming and making it profitable. 

According to CNBC, “Iger [also] said he aimed to ask the board to approve the reinstatement of its dividend–which had been suspended since early 2020 due to the pandemic–by the end of the calendar year.”

It seems many of these changes addressed key concerns from Peltz’s group. But Peltz did note that they would be watching as the Company moves forward. Peltz’s group continues to be a shareholder in the Company as far as we know so we will continue to watch for what comments they may share about Disney in the future and what other changes Iger makes during his tenure.

Stay tuned for the latest news.

Click here to learn more about the earnings report from Disney’s first quarter of fiscal year 2023

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What do you think about this major change? Tell us in the comments.