Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz is eyeing a seat on Disney’s board again as he increases his stake in the company amid falling stock prices.
Peltz, whose daughter Nicola married Brooklyn Beckham in a lavish ceremony last year, now owns about $2.5 billion worth of Disney shares after his company boosted their number to about 30 million.
The fund, which is now one of Disney’s biggest investors, is expected to ask for several seats, including one for its co-founder, the Wall Street Journal reports.
It comes months after an initial proxy war between Peltz and current Disney CEO Bob Iger, and at a time when Disney shares have fallen to a ten-year low.
Disney shares tumbled 12.5 percent over the past 52 weeks from $95.16 to a decade low of $83.60.
Nelson Peltz, 81, pictured with his daughter Nicola (right) and wife Claudia revived his proxy war with Disney
Disney shares have fallen in recent months as the media conglomerate struggles
Earlier in January, former Trump supporter Peltz declared war on the vigilante Disney, making a play for a board position and demanding that Iger cut back on expenses.
Iger himself made a dramatic comeback after handing over the reins to Bob Chapek who struggled to fill his predecessor’s shoes and ended up losing Disney’s favorable business terms in Florida over his clumsy handling of the state’s ‘Don ‘t Say Gay’ account.
Chapek entered into a public feud with Gov. Ron DeSantis after he tried to intervene in the discussion over state legislation to limit discussions of sex and gender in schools.
Disney still has a pending lawsuit against the state after a bitter back-and-forth.
Peltz pulled out of the initial proxy fight in February after Iger returned to his previous role and unveiled a cost-cutting plan involving 7,000 layoffs and restructuring to save about $5.5 billion.
Earlier this year, Bob Iger managed to fend off Peltz’s previous bid for a board seat by promising a series of cost-cutting measures
However, the stock drop prompted the activist investor to renew his bid for power, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
If Disney refuses Trian’s request, the fund could look to nominate director candidates before the media conglomerate’s next meeting in the spring. Shareholder nominations can take place from 5 December to 4 January.
Part of Trian’s concerns center around the inability to find a successor for Iger, who recently renewed his deal with Disney to stay in the job until 2026.
Other issues facing the media company include the recent Hollywood writers’ strike, a battle with major cable operator Charter Communications and losses over its streaming and TV businesses.
Peltz is a firm believer in keeping politics out of business and has a history of challenging vigilante companies.
In September 2021, he confronted Ben & Jerry’s owner Unilever over his many political statements. He told the ice cream maker that it was a mistake for the company to get involved in issues such as Palestine’s conflict with Israel.
At the time, Ben & Jerry’s promised to stop selling ice cream in ‘Palestinian territories’.
Almost a year after the conversation with Unilever CEO Alan Jope, Peltz joined its board and shares rose seven percent.
Peltz and his partners found further success with the acquisition of Snapple from Quaker Oats in 1997
Peltz’s first proxy war called on Disney to ‘restore the magic’ amid criticism that the media conglomerate has become too political
The move was just the latest in a string of successes for Peltz, who began his working life as a truck driver for his family’s food wholesale business.
Over the next 15 years, he transformed the company into a giant, taking it public in 1973 for $150 million.
Other wins came in 1997 when he and his partners acquired Snapple from Quaker Oats and turned it around before selling it to Schweppes, and in 2007 when he masterminded Cadbury’s spinoff of its confectionery arm from Schweppes to great success .
He led a similar overhaul at Procter & Gamble, joining its board in March 2018 and leaving in October 2021, after reviving its share price with a series of structural changes.
His first bid for a Disney board seat came amid criticism that the company had begun to virtue-signal and fell in the estimation of many American families.
In a social media blitz, Peltz launched an urge for the mass media behemoth to ‘restore’ its lost “magic”.
DailyMail.com has approached Disney and Trian Investment Fund for comment.