ValueAct Capital reiterated its support for The Walt Disney Company as billionaire Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management continues to push its agenda in a proxy fight for seats on Disney’s board.
“As legacy technologies transition to digital platforms, we believe Disney can lead the media industry forward,” ValueAct Co-CEO Mason Morfit said in a statement.
This comes after Disney won the backing of both ValueAct and Blackwells Capital in January. In the announcement with its deal with Disney, ValueAct said that it has “extensive experience investing in media and technology companies navigating significant business transformations.” This includes Spotify, the New York Times, 21st Century Fox, Nintendo, Microsoft, Adobe and Salesforce.
At the time, Disney CEO Bob Iger also released a statement saying, “ValueAct Capital has a track record of collaboration and cooperation with the companies it invests in, and its co-CEO Mason Morfit has been very constructive in the conversations we’ve had over the past year. We welcome their input as long-term shareholders.”
Morfit also added at the time that, “Disney is the world’s leading entertainment company. It has the best intellectual property, sports brand, and parks and experiences assets in the industry. As legacy technologies transition to digital platforms, we believe Disney can lead the media industry forward. We could not be more excited to partner with Bob and the board to help create long-term sustainable shareholder value.”
In a presentation that was filed with the SEC and released, ValueAct built a case for its support for Disney. It concluded by saying, “we have a thesis — informed by our network and toolkit,” “we have a positive collaboration — LOTS of learning and teaching — well underway,” and “we have tangible evidence of progress.”
While this voice of support is undoubtably welcome by Disney leadership, it doesn’t insure victory in this proxy fight. That will be determined, for now, on April 3 at the annual shareholder meeting. Daps Magic will continue to cover this story and provide updates as they become available. What do you think about this voice of support for Disney? Is it the right direction? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
