It has been a tumultuous return to the Magic Kingdom for Disney (DIS) -) CEO Bob Iger.
As rumors about the company selling off ABC and ESPN — two of its most popular properties — swirl, the company has been involved in media blackouts and an ongoing feud with the state of Florida.
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While Iger didn't start the political battle with Florida Governor, and presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, the issues between the state and the company have gotten much worse under Disney's once again CEO, leading to lawsuits and a fracture between the two that may never be patched.
Being intractable in his dealings with Disney benefits DeSantis politically. He has staked himself as the 'anti-woke' presidential candidate and his followers have cheered on his aggressiveness with a company that they see as very woke.
Meanwhile Disney's stock is suffering amid the aforementioned uncertainty with some of its biggest properties, falling more than 14% over the past six months.
But Iger and Disney have taken a different tone with DeSantis in recent weeks, with Iger signaling a possible détente at an investor event earlier this week at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
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Iger said that his primary goal right now is to "quiet the noise" because the culture wars are bad for business, Needham analyst Laura Martin wrote in a note earlier this week, according to Fox Business.
The company's relationship with its adopted home state is crucial right now as it also announced plans to spend about $60 billion over the next 10 years — double what it spent over the previous 10 — investing in its Parks, Experiences and Products segment which includes extensive theme parks and cruise operations throughout the state of Florida.
Disney said it will invest in "expanding and enhancing domestic and international parks and cruise line capacity," in an SEC filing earlier this week, and Iger and Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro told the 120 investors and Wall Street analysts that were present for his speech that the company has over 1,000 acres of land "for possible future development to expand theme park space across its existing site - the equivalent of about seven new Disneyland parks," according to Disney parks blog WDW News.
DeSantis has targeted Disney because its former CEO Bob Chapek took a public stance against the governor's so-called "Don't Say Gay" legislation. After Chapek's comments, DeSantis took over the former Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the authority Disney controlled to handle municipal issues.
Iger returned with the promise of repairing Disney's relationship with Florida, but instead multiple lawsuits have been filed between the two entities, even as Disney attempts to cool the rhetoric between the two.
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