Disney receives support for board nominees from activist investor ValueAct

The Walt Disney Company has struck a deal with ValueAct Capital Management, winning the activist investor’s support for its board nominees at the key upcoming annual meeting.

According to Disney, the confidentiality agreement will “facilitate strategic consultations down the road.” [the] Transformation of the company.” It also allows Disney “to provide information to the investment firm and consult with ValueAct on strategic matters, including through meetings with the Disney board and management.”

For its part, ValueAct has confirmed that it will support the nominees recommended by the Disney board of directors for the 2024 annual meeting. The San Francisco-based investor, who has quietly built up a stake in Disney, has been actively involved in transformations at Spotify, The New York Times, 21st Century Fox, Nintendo, Microsoft, Adobe and Salesforce.

Disney is currently in the middle of a battle with another activist shareholder, Trian Fund Management, which in December made an unsolicited bid to appoint its co-founder Nelson Peltz and former Disney chief financial officer James Rasulo to its board of directors. media giant to nominate. .

Mason Morfit, co-CEO and chief investment officer of ValueAct Capital, said Disney has “the best intellectual property assets, sports brands and parks and experiences in the industry.”

“As older technologies migrate to digital platforms, we believe Disney can advance the media industry,” he added. We could not be more excited to work with Bob and the board to create long-term, sustainable shareholder value.”

“ValueAct Capital has a track record of working with the companies it invests in, and its co-CEO, Mason Morfit, has been very constructive in the conversations we’ve had over the past year. We welcome their contribution as long-term shareholders,” said Robert A. Iger, Disney Chief Executive Officer.