- Three major Disney investors have a history with Nelson Peltz’s proxy struggles.
- BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street voted against Peltz’s Trian Partners in a 2015 proxy battle.
- But in a fight against P&G in 2017, BlackRock and State Street backed Peltz.
The fate of Nelson Peltz’s proxy fight against Disney rests in part on three investors – the same investors who condemned his battle against DuPont nearly 10 years ago.
BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street are among Disney’s largest institutional investors, and how they decide to vote at Wednesday’s shareholder meeting could spell the end of Peltz’s campaign for two board seats from Disney.
And if history is any indicator, it may not be looking good for Peltz.
In 2015, Peltz’s company, Trian Partners, lost its proxy fight against US chemical conglomerate DuPont after Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street – some of DuPont’s largest investors at the time – voted against the request. Peltz for four board seats, Reuters reported at the time. .
When Peltz fought a proxy battle against Procter & Gamble in 2017 — which he first lost, then won after a vote recount — Vanguard voted against him again. But unlike the DuPont battle in 2015, this time BlackRock and State Street voted in favor.
Trian Partners has spent a huge amount of money trying to get Disney investors to vote their way, against Disney’s current management and CEO Bob Iger.
But Disney could already be ahead of Peltz, according to the Wall Street Journal. Asset management firm BlackRock, which owns a 4.2% stake in Disney, intends to vote against Peltz, the Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
It is not yet clear how State Street, a financial services company, or Vanguard, an investment management company, intend to vote, or whether they have already voted. A State Street spokesperson told Business Insider that they do not comment on individual company votes, and Vanguard did not respond to BI’s request for comment.
So who is really on Peltz’s side?
Fund manager T. Rowe Price, global asset manager Neuberger Berman and pension fund California Public Employees’ Retirement System are backing Peltz and Trian, the Journal reported.
Among those on Disney’s side are filmmaker George Lucas, Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, Disney says on its website.
businessinsider
