Disney Activist Peltz Calls For 'Netflix-Like' Margins In Streaming -- Update
January 18 2024 - 10:34AM
Dow Jones News
By Ben Glickman
Activist investor Nelson Peltz called for Disney to improve
streaming margins as he nominated himself and former Disney finance
chief James Rasulo to the entertainment giant's board.
Peltz's Trian Fund Management previously announced it would
nominate the two directors as part of a proxy battle at Disney.
Disney said on Tuesday that it does not endorse the nominations
of Peltz and Rasulo as it nominated its own slate of directors.
Trian in a filing Thursday called for streaming margin targets
of 15% to 20%, which it describes as "Netflix-like." The group also
called for "a successful CEO succession" and to align management
pay with company performance.
Disney disclosed on Tuesday that CEO Bob Iger's total
compensation doubled in fiscal 2023 to $31.6 million.
Trian's preliminary proxy statement for Disney's annual meeting
outlines other goals, including committing to a defined payback
period and return profile on ESPN as well as a board-led review of
creative processes from the studio.
Trian said it believes a major problem at Disney is that goals
have been "amorphous and the execution poor."
Peltz's activist fight at Disney is his second push at the
company in less than a year. He previously called for cost cutting
and board changes, but ended his fight after Iger announced over $5
billion in reduced costs and a headcount reduction.
"They promised they were going to improve things. I took them at
their word," Peltz said Thursday in an interview on CNBC. "Things
got worse. The stock went down. Results got worse. So, no more. I
can't continue to give them more opportunities."
Peltz said in the interview that his goal was to work with Iger,
but that he did not view the current board of directors as doing
its job. "It is time to 'Restore the Magic' at Disney," he
added.
A Disney spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 18, 2024 10:19 ET (15:19 GMT)
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