Disney’s proxy battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz is over, with the investor saying Thursday morning that he is abandoning his plans to join the company’s board of directors.
“This was a great win for all the shareholders. Management at Disney now plans to do everything that we wanted them to do,” Peltz said on CNBC Thursday morning, adding that the fight was over, and he wished Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger the best.
“We respect and value the input of all our shareholders and we appreciate the decision by Trian Fund announced by Nelson Peltz this morning,” Disney responded in a statement. “We are pleased that our Board and management can remain focused without the distraction of a proxy contest, and we have tremendous faith in Bob Iger’s leadership and the transformative vision for Disney’s future he set forth yesterday.”
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Peltz made the comments on CNBC shortly after Iger was interviewed on the channel. It was a newsmaking conversation, with Iger suggesting that Hulu’s future as part of the company is far from set in stone.
Speaking to CNBC’s David Faber, Iger said that Hulu “is a very successful platform, and I think a good consumer proposition. But everything’s on the table right now.”
Faber said that the assumption is that Disney will buy out Comcast’s stake next year. “I’m suggesting that isn’t necessarily the case,” Iger responded.
“I’m not gonna speculate about whether we’re a buyer or seller of it,” Iger added. “I obviously have suggested that I’m concerned about undifferentiated general entertainment, particularly given the competitive landscape that we’re operating in, and we’re going to look at it very objectively.”
Iger reiterated that a great deal of Disney’s content savings will come from more “curation” of general entertainment content, with Disney leaning further into its owned franchises.
Iger praised programming produced at FX and other Disney units, but added that “there are seven or eight platforms in the streaming business alone that are in general entertainment. That’s a tough business to be in competitively, and it’s not our strongest suit.”
He also acknowledged that streaming can be profitable, but that the focus on subscriber acquisition early on could have been handled better.
“I think one of the things that happened was that we got a little bit intoxicated by our own sub growth,” Iger said.
The CEO also addressed two thorny questions: Nelson Peltz’s activist fight, and the departure of his successor and predecessor, Bob Chapek. Iger said that he felt it was a mistake to separate the business side of the entertainment divisions from the creative side, which is why that was his first move after re-joining Disney.
“This is a big complex company and a hard company to run even in good times. We thought we were making we made the right decision when we chose Bob back in 2020,” Iger said. “The board obviously decided recently in November that he was not the right person for the job and they made a change. With anything, that any big decision that you make, particularly if it doesn’t work out right. You should learn from what went wrong. And that’s something the board has discussed.”
Iger said that he was offered the job to return to Disney on the Friday before the news was released, with board chair Susan Arnold calling him.
“She made it very, very clear that it was a time of need, they decided to make a change the CEO level. And I felt that I guess I had a sense of obligation,” Iger recalled.
He added that he intends to stay for two years, and that it would be his “preference” to leave after two years as well.
As for finding a successor, Iger said that he would be attending a meeting on Friday where succession was expected to be discussed, and that incoming Disney board chair Mark Parker is already making progress.
“Their work is already underway. I will be involved with them, but again, it’s a board led process,” Iger said. “I’ll help them assess candidates obviously, but it’ll be their decision. I’ll have one vote as a board member.”
Peltz announced his proxy fight last month, arguing for a clearer succession strategy, cost-cutting and a return of Disney’s dividend. As Iger told Faber, Disney was now engaging in all three moves. But as The Hollywood Reporter reported on Jan. 17, Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter was also involved.
“They have a relationship that dates back quite some time,” Iger told Faber, adding that it’s possible there was bad blood between them after Iger moved Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios into the film studios division back in 2015. “Let’s put it this way. He [Perlmutter] was not happy about it. And I think that unhappiness exists today.”
Feb. 9, 8:57 a.m. Updated with Disney response to Peltz.
