Egan-Jones Recommends Disney Shareholders Vote "For" Nelson Peltz And Jay Rasulo

Author: Happy Mohamed | March 27, 2024 08:08am

Joins ISS in Recognizing the Need for Board Change at Disney
 

Egan-Jones Recommends Shareholders Vote "FOR" Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo and "WITHHOLD" on Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael B.G. Froman

NEW YORK, March 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Trian Group,1 which beneficially owns over $3.5 billion of common stock in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), today announced that Egan-Jones is the second independent proxy advisory firm, along with Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS"), to recommend that shareholders vote for change in the composition of the Disney board. Specifically, Egan-Jones recommends that Disney shareholders vote "FOR" both of Trian's nominees, Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, and "WITHHOLD" on Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael B.G. Froman in connection with Disney's annual meeting on April 3, 2024. Last week, ISS recommended that shareholders vote "FOR" Mr. Peltz and "WITHHOLD" on Ms. Lagomasino.

Egan-Jones concluded: "We see very little downside and a lot of upsides in putting the Trian Nominees on the Board." Among the reasons Egan-Jones cited for the need for change at Disney were:

• "The apparent lack of a … long-term succession plan."

• "A Board that appears cutoff and unwilling to engage with investors and the broader market."

• "A business model, we believe to be built for the last decade, but not forward looking and flexible enough to ensure success in the next."

• "A desire to protect the status quo for as long as possible and at all costs."

• "Mediocre financial performance and the resultant lower valuation."
   

Similarly, ISS concluded that "incremental change is needed at the company due to multi-year underperformance [relative to] the company's peers and chosen benchmark, operational challenges, and most critically, a repeated failure on the part of the board to oversee the cultivation of a successor…"

In supporting the election of Mr. Peltz and the withholding of support for Ms. Lagomasino, ISS wrote that:

• Nelson Peltz is "well positioned to provide the catalyst that this board apparently needs to improve its effectiveness."

• "Dissident nominee Peltz, as a significant shareholder, could be additive to the succession process, providing assurance to other investors that the board is properly engaged this time around. He could also help evaluate future capital allocation decisions."

• "Moreover, multi-year concerns surrounding Lagomasino's role as a compensation committee member strengthen the case that Peltz's addition, on balance, would appear a net positive."
   

To ensure the election of Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, it is essential that shareholders vote "FOR" Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, and "WITHHOLD" on Maria Elena Lagomasino, Michael B.G. Froman, and all three Blackwells Nominees. As Disney's annual meeting is one week away, it is important that shareholders vote TODAY. Every vote is important. The deadline for shareholders to vote by telephone or electronically is April 2, 2024, at 11:59pm ET.

For more information, including voting instructions, visit our website: www.RestoreTheMagic.com.

Posted In: DIS