Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Disney, Ike Perlmutter, Marvel Comics, Marvel Studios, Movies | Tagged: bob iger, Trian

Ike Perlmutter Returns To Try And Take Over Marvel Comics And Disney

Ike Perlmutter is back with a plan to seize control of Disney alongside investor Nelson Peltz and his activist investor firm Trian.

Ike Perlmutter is the 81-year-old former Chair of Marvel Entertainment, Donald Trump's biggest political donor and Disney's largest solo shareowner with twenty-five million shares to his name worth around $2.3 billion. He was fired by Disney CEO Bob Iger earlier this year. But now he is back with a plan to seize control. Alongside Disney investor Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian, they are fighting for regain board seats at Disney and are targeting Iger. Last week, Disney expanded its ten board seats to twelve, and Trian wants three of them.

Trian issued a statement saying, "following conversations with Disney's CEO, Disney extended an offer to Trian to meet with the board but informed Trian that the board is turning down Trian's recent request for Board representation, including Nelson Peltz… Since we gave Disney the opportunity to prove it could 'right the ship' last February, up to our re-engagement weeks ago, shareholders lost ~$70 billion of value. Disney's share price has underperformed proxy peers and the broader market over every relevant period during the last decade and over the tenure of each incumbent director. Investor confidence is low, key strategic questions loom, and even Disney's CEO is acknowledging that the company's challenges are greater than previously believed. While James Gorman and Sir Jeremy Darroch represent an improvement from the status quo, the addition of these directors will not, in our view, restore investor confidence or address the root cause behind the significant value destruction and missteps that this board has overseen. Trian intends to take our case for change directly to shareholders."

In response, Disney says that Perlmutter "was terminated from his employment by Disney earlier this year and has voiced his longstanding personal agenda against Disney's CEO, Robert A. Iger, which may be different than that of all other shareholders. This dynamic is relevant to assessing Mr. Peltz and any other nominees he may put forth as directors." Iger fired Perlmutter as part of the very cost-cutting reorganization that Perlmutter had pressed for. They have stated that"The Walt Disney Company has a proven track record of delivering long-term value to our shareholders and is in the midst of a significant transformation to reinforce our position as the world's preeminent entertainment company…  Over the past twelve months, we restructured the company to restore creativity to the centre of all our businesses as we significantly reduce costs and drive efficiencies, and we are on track to achieve about $7.5 billion in cost savings – $2 billion more than our original target".

A spokesman for Perlmutter told the Daily Mail that it was "not from a personal grudge match, but rather for maximizing shareholder value for Disney stockholders." Trian claims to represent 33 million shares in Disney, worth more than $3 billion.

Peltz and Perlmutter have pressured Iger to reduce costs and pay dividends to its shareholders since he returned from retirement to lead Disney a year ago. The Disney board has announced a cash dividend of 30 cents per share in January, which will net Perlmutter $7.5 million.

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