Initially, Disney CEO Robert A. Iger seemed poised to easily defeat Tryon. (Blackwells was never a threat.) Prominent Disney shareholders like George Lucas and Laurene Powell Jobs lined up to support him. The Disney family, including Abigail E. Disney, denounced Tryon and Blackwells as “wolves in sheep's clothing.” Analysts (Guggenheim, Macquarie) and shareholder advisory firms (Glass Lewis, ValueEdge) poured cold water on Mr. Peltz's campaign.
However, it developed into a much closer contest.
Mr. Iger's job is not in jeopardy. Now 73 and in his second stint as CEO, he has vowed to leave Disney permanently at the end of 2026. But a loss could tarnish his legacy and disrupt streaming, theme park expansion and even Disney's approach. The message contained in the movie.
Here's what you need to know:
Disney is likely to win, but there are no guarantees.
Disney has received significant support in recent days in its efforts to ban dissidents from its board of directors. BlackRock, which owns about 80 million shares of Disney stock, voted to elect Disney's nominee on Monday, as did T. Rowe Price, who owns about 9 million shares. Vanguard, which owns about 146 million shares, gave voting rights to Disney on Tuesday.
But the activists have their supporters, too. Influential proxy advisory firm ISS partially supported Mr. Peltz and criticized Disney's succession plan. Mr. Peltz also received support from another advisory firm, Egan Jones. It accused Disney of needlessly veering into what it called a “culture war murder scene.”
California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), which owns about 6.6 million shares of Disney stock, said the company would benefit from “fresh eyes” in voting for Peltz. He added that Mr. Peltz “has the ability to lead necessary changes in corporate governance.”