Disney and CEO Bob Iger have pulled into the lead for each of their 12 board candidates to win reelection — with activist investor Nelson Peltz trailing — after more than half of shareholder votes have been cast ahead of the Mouse House’s April 3 annual meeting, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Two of Disney’s institutional investors — BlackRock (which owns about 4.2% of outstanding shares) and T. Rowe Price (0.5%) — are supporting the company’s slate of directors, which includes Iger, per the Journal, citing anonymous sources.
The WSJ article did not indicate how big a lead Disney’s 12-member board slate reportedly has over Peltz at this juncture. According to the Journal’s report, with about 20% of shares voted as of late last week, Peltz had been leading the race to replace incumbent Disney board member Maria Elena Lagomasino (while Trian‘s other nominee, ex-Disney CFO Jay Rasulo, was trailing).
Reps for Disney, Trian and T. Rowe Price did not respond to requests for comment on the report. A BlackRock spokesman declined to comment.
Disney’s 2024 annual meeting of shareholders will be held virtually Wednesday, April 3, starting at 10 a.m. PT. Eligible shareholders have been able to cast their votes prior to the meeting online, via mail or by telephone. Shareholders may vote at the meeting but Disney says it “strongly” encourages them to do so by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 2. The vote counts will be announced at the April 3 meeting.
The ultimate outcome of the proxy fight is still up in the air. Overall, individual Disney shareholders own more than one-third of outstanding shares, making them a sizable force in deciding the board election.
SEE ALSO: Disney Board Showdown: What’s at Stake at Contentious 2024 Shareholder Meeting
