Bob Iger has emerged victorious from the biggest challenge to his leadership at Disney after activist investor Nelson Peltz reportedly sold his entire stake in the company.
The Disney CEO had been forced to dodge questions about whether he would resign should investors vote in April to ensconce the Trian Partners founder on the board against management’s wishes.
Fortunately for Iger, it never came to that after neither Peltz nor partner Jay Rasulo received anywhere near the level of support they needed.
Just weeks after Iger triumphed at last month’s shareholder meeting, Peltz has dumped his stock in the entertainment giant at a price of $120 per share, according to reports by the New York Times and CNBC that both cited an informed but anonymous source.
Disney could not immediately be reached by Fortune for a statement, while Trian declined to comment.
A complete exit would amount to a reversal for Peltz, as the investor who first emerged in late 2022 had signaled a few weeks ago that he would return next year should Iger falter.
Trian’s proxy battle posed the greatest threat to a Disney CEO since Michael Eisner’s feud with Roy Disney, the nephew of company founder Walt, 20 years ago.
Even though Eisner ultimately prevailed in the March 2004 vote, the challenge to his authority was so damaging he stepped down the following year.
Disney management had argued Trian’s proposals were “dangerous, uninformed and value-destructive” and blasted Peltz for lacking experience in creative entertainment and failing to understand how the media industry worked.
“Peltz on the Board sends a message that creativity is being deprioritized in favor of financial engineering just as we are restoring creative confidence across Disney,” the company warned ahead of the crucial April vote.
While Iger could count on the support of the Disney family heirs, Star Wars creator George Lucas and Steve Jobs’ widow, Peltz was endorsed by America’s largest public pension fund CalPERS, asset manager Neuberger Berman and leading proxy advisor ISS.
Ike Perlmutter and Elon Musk still pose a potential threat
Iger won’t be able to put the affair behind him entirely, however.
Disney estimated four out of five shares represented by Peltz’s voting bloc stemmed from a pooling agreement with billionaire Ike Perlmutter.
The former Marvel Entertainment chair has what Disney politely characterized as a “fraught history” with the CEO stretching back years, and was fired from the company only last April.
Since the New York Times explicitly reported only Trian’s stake being sold, Perlmutter likely still owns his stock, likely worth well over $2 billion.
Moreover, Iger still has Elon Musk to contend with, after the Disney CEO alienated the entrepreneur by pulling ad spending from X.
The Tesla CEO, who pledged to buy Disney shares if Peltz was elected, has since repeatedly called for Iger's resignation and is now bankrolling actress Gina Carano’s wrongful dismissal lawsuit against Disney.
Things are starting to look up at Disney, however.
The company remains on track to hit profitability in its strategically vital streaming business by the end of the fiscal year this fall, FX’s Shogun proved the House of Mouse can still deliver a global hit show, and Iger even hiked Disney's full-year earnings guidance earlier this month.
