Less than a week before Walt Disney’s annual shareholder meeting on April 3, which will end the ongoing proxy battle between CEO Bob Iger’s board of directors and activist investors Trian Fund Management and Blackwells Capital, New York City’s pension systems are Disney’s team, the one in New York. controller. Brad Lander said on Thursday.
“New York City’s retirement systems intend to vote in favor of management-appointed candidates,” the report told TheWrap. “The company’s stock performed well. “
“Disney’s control and board are focused on a strategic transformation, and we, as shareholders, deserve to have time to implement that transformation,” Lander explained before chiding Nelson Peltz, who he said has a record of “troubling performance. “
“What remains clear is that forums are most effective when members bring valuable perspectives and have fun and focus on the long-term fitness of the company,” he said. “Nelson Peltz’s troubling performance in other corporate forums raises concerns about the price it would bring, and we don’t believe that was to preserve the price for shareholders. “
The city’s retirement systems manage more than $250 billion in assets for approximately 800,000 existing and retired public sector employees in New York City. They also own 2. 7 million Disney shares valued at $229. 2 million, 6. 3 million shares valued at $272. 7 million in Comcast, and approximately 21,000 Class A shares and 691,000 Class B shares with a combined price of more than $10 million in Paramount.
The war between Disney CEO Iger and Peltz’s Trian Fund Management will end on April 3, when shareholders fill the company’s 12-member board of directors. Disney touted several innovations and new systems as reasons why investors deserve to re-elect the company’s directors. On the move, and it will be split on Wednesday.
In addition to Lander and NYC Retirement Systems, Disney has won among former CEO Michael Eisner, proxy consulting firm Glass Lewis, “Star Wars” author George Lucas, Laurene Powell Jobs, activist investor ValueAct Capital, J. P. and CEO Glass Lewis. Morgan Jamie Dimon, former Bob Weis, chairman of Walt Disney Imagineering and grandchildren of Walt Disney.
Meanwhile, Trian won between former Array Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter, activist investor Ancora Holdings, more than a dozen former and existing public corporate administrators who worked with Disney co-founder and board candidate Nelson Peltz, and proxy advisory corporation Institutional Shareholder Services. He played an influential role in Roy E. ‘s power campaign. Disney vs. Eisner, who stripped him of his role as president.
Shareholders of record at the close on Feb. 5 will have the right to vote at the April 3 meeting. Disney has about 1. 8 billion shares outstanding, according to its most recent proxy filing. Disney shares are up 22. 5% over the past year, 28. 2% year-to-date, and 43% in the past six months.
Lucas Manfredi contributed to this report.