Peltz ends Disney proxy fight as Iger launches restructuring

Reuters

(Reuters) – Activist investor Nelson Peltz called off his bid for a seat on the board of Walt Disney Co on Thursday after Chief Executive Bob Iger revealed a plan to restructure and cut costs.

Peltz stirred the pot for what appeared to be a boardroom battle brewing at the Magic Kingdom, after he demanded the company reorganize and focus on creativity while criticizing its bungled succession planning.

Peltz’s Trian Fund, after Third Point’s Daniel Loeb, pushed the company to make changes after the pandemic crushed its parks business and forced it to increase expenditure to weed out competition in the streaming industry.

Here is what happened since Iger retired in 2020:


Date Event


Feb. 25, Iger retires after 15 years as CEO, handing the

2020 reins to Disney Parks head Bob Chapek; Iger

assumes post of executive chairman

Sept. 29, Disney says it will lay off about 28,000 parks

2020 unit employees due to coronavirus hit

Oct. 7, Activist investor Daniel Loeb urges Disney to

2020 forgo paying a dividend and use the cash to

make and buy more programming for Disney+

Oct. 12, Disney restructures its media and entertainment

2020 businesses to accelerate growth of Disney+

Feb. 28, Disney pauses film releases in Russia over

2022 Ukraine invasion

March 4, Disney says it will offer a cheaper,

2022 ad-supported version of Disney+

March 10, Disney pauses all business in Russia

2022

May 16, Third Point liquidates its position in Disney

2022 during the first quarter, two years after the

hedge fund first invested and began urging the

media company to spend more aggressively on its

streaming platform

May 16, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says he wants the

2022 state to take control of Disney’s special

district when it is scheduled to be dissolved

in June 2023

June 9, Chief Executive Bob Chapek announces a major

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2022 leadership shift, promoting Dana Walden to

chairman of general entertainment content

June 28, Disney board unanimously votes to extend Chief

2022 Executive Officer Bob Chapek’s contract for

three years

Aug. 15, Third Point discloses a stake of roughly $1

2022 billion and said it plans to push the media

company to make a string of changes

Sept. 11, Third Point’s Daniel Loeb backs off from

2022 pushing Walt Disney Co to spin off ESPN

Sept. 14, Comcast Corp Chief Executive Brian Roberts

2022 signals to Disney the company will seek market

value for its minority stake in Hulu

Sept. 30, Disney announces a truce with activist investor

2022 Third Point, saying it would appoint tech and

media veteran Carolyn Everson to the board

Nov. 8, Disney reports higher streaming customers, but

2022 high costs disappoint investors

Nov. 11, The company plans to freeze hiring and cut some

2022 jobs, according to a memo seen by Reuters

Nov. 21, Bob Iger returned to Disney as chief executive

2022 less than a year after he retired, in a

surprise comeback

Nov. 28, Iger says one of his top priorities was to make

2022 the company’s streaming business profitable

Dec. 8, The ad-supported version of the Disney+ service

2022 launches, attracting major advertisers from

different sectors

Jan. 12, Activist investor Nelson Peltz formally

2023 launches a battle for board seat at Disney

Jan. 17, Disney in a letter to shareholders defends its

2023 board for denying Peltz a seat, saying he

“lacks the skills and experience” to help the

company

Feb. 8, Announces a restructuring, 7,000

2023 job cuts as part of Disney’s efforts to save

$5.5 billion in costs and make its streaming

business profitable

Feb. 9, Peltz declares that his proxy fight is over

2023

(Reporting by Akash Sriram and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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