Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, speaks during the grand opening ceremony of the Zootopia-inspired attraction at Shanghai Disney Resort at Shanghai Disney Resort on December 19, 2023 in Shanghai, China.
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Disney the largest shareholder, the manager of the Vanguard index fund, plans to support the management board of Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners during Wednesday’s board vote, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing anonymous people accustomed to the matter.
Institutional shareholders have until Wednesday to alter their votes. Vanguard owns 7.8% of Disney stock. Black RockDisney’s second-largest shareholder with 4.2% of the stock also supports incumbent board and CEO Bob Iger, This was reported by the Wall Street Journal. Monday.
Reports about the alleged voting by Disney’s largest shareholders sparked sharp criticism from former activist investor Bill Ackman on Tuesday night.
“Only the company and its advisors have access to how shareholders vote before the day of the general meeting” – Ackman he wrote on social media platform
Disney shareholders should support Peltz’s efforts, Ackman wrote, each because he would make a “significantly helpful” contribution to Disney and since leaks to the media that Ackman said got here from Disney or its advisers raised questions on why management “so “He fought fiercely to maintain it off.”
It would be a major blow to Peltz’s ambitions to join Disney’s board if both BlackRock and Vanguard decide to endorse the media company’s candidates. Therefore, only State Street and Geode Capital Management, the company’s third- and fourth-largest shareholders, respectively, would be unknown.
By system Along with former Marvel president Ike Perlmutter, Trian controls 1.8% of Disney stock, making him the fifth-largest shareholder. Individual investors have until Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. EST to vote by phone or online.
Trian gained support from other, smaller shareholders, including Neuberger Berman and CalPERS. For its part, Disney has enlisted the cooperation of some of the most prominent names from the corporate and media world, including: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Star Wars creator George Lucas.
Disney’s annual shareholder meeting begins Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST.
Vanguard declined to comment to CNBC.
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