NEWS: Proxy Votes Are Being SOLD Ahead of Disney's Shareholder Meeting

Disney is holding out hope that shareholders will vote in their favor at the upcoming annual meeting.

©Disney | Walt Disney Company Headquarters

The Walt Disney Company is in the middle of a proxy battle with activist investor, Nelson Peltz, who is petitioning to get a seat on the Company’s Board of Directors. Disney and CEO Bob Iger have urged stock owners to vote against Peltz using the help of cartoon allies and Walt Disney’s grandchildren. But, it’s the shareholders who could end up being the winners in this battle.

Disney shareholders could cash in on the proxy battle, according to Business Insider. Amid the chaos, investors are being enticed by online auctions in which they can sell their proxy votes. The marketplace is called the Shareholder Vote Exchange and one bidder on the site is offering as much as $100,000 for 500,000 proxy votes, which amounts to $0.20 per vote.

Walt Disney Company Headquarters ©LA Times

Individual investors own more than one-third of Disney’s 1.8 billion shares, more than the typical company. Cofounder and chief operating officer of Shareholder Vote Exchange, Steven Xu, confirmed the bid was from a current shareholder. Trian and Blackwells have not responded to requests on whether or not one of them is the bidder in question.

©Getty Images

Despite being on shaky ethical ground, buying shareholder votes is legal. This marketplace, in particular, advertises itself as being a way for “regular” investors to generate income by monetizing shareholder votes. Ultimately, though, there’s no guarantee that the marketplace will have an impact on the Disney board vote.

©Trian Partners

Disney has previously stated that “the Board does NOT endorse the nominations of Nelson Peltz and James Rasulo put forth by Trian Fund Management, L.P. and its affiliates, led by Nelson Peltz and supported by former Disney executive Isaac Perlmutter (collectively, the “Trian Group”).” The notice went on to say, “The Board recommends that shareholders do not vote for the Trian Group nominees and that they reject a related proposal from the Trian Group to amend the Company Bylaws.”

Disney also made it clear that the Board “does not endorse the nominations of Craig Hatkoff, Jessica Schell and Leah Solivan put forth for election as directors by Blackwells Onshore I LLC, Blackwells Capital LLC and Jason Aintabi (collectively, the “Blackwells Group”).”

©Disney

We’ll have to wait and see what will end up happening at the annual shareholders meeting on April 3rd, but in the meantime, stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney news.

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