Disney’s Bob Iger is ‘overwhelmed and exhausted’ as company’s share price tanks – and he faces takeover by activist investor Nelson Peltz
Disney boss Bob Iger is ‘overwhelmed and exhausted’ as he extends his contract for another three years amid falling stock prices and challenges to his leadership.
Iger served as the company’s CEO from 2005 to 2020, but came out of retirement in early 2021 as Disney’s value fell below $160 billion — less than half of what it was when he left.
In September, Iger revealed the company would “shut down the noise” around cultural issues because it has been shown to be bad for business.
Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz is again eyeing a seat on Disney’s board as he increases his stake in the company and tries to reignite a proxy war he started in January to secure a directorship.
Members of Iger’s inner circle told Bloomberg the House of Mouse boss is ‘overwhelmed and exhausted.’
Members of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s (pictured) inner circle say he is ‘overwhelmed and exhausted’ during his second tenure in the role
The billionaire Nelson Peltz (left) with his daughter Nicola (right). The activist investor now owns $2.5 billion worth of Disney stock
Disney shares have fallen since Iger left his role as CEO in 2020. Shares have fallen more than 12 percent in the past year, even hitting a decade low of $83.60 before currently bouncing to $84.99.
The company’s shares tumbled 12.5 percent over the past 52 weeks from $95.16 to a decade-long low of $83.60. Currently shares are at $84.99.
His successor, Bob Chapek, was marred by falling stock prices and a battle with Florida lawmakers.
Chapek started the war with the Florida government when he criticized Ron DeSantis’ so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
The Republican governor fired back at the company, accusing them of being “woke,” which they said was a First Amendment violation.
In his first tenure as CEO, Iger saw 15 years of corporate growth. He has been praised for his acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox.
He built Disney+, launched new cruise ships and opened a theme park in Shanghai.
After he left, Iger was reportedly frustrated with Chapek’s leadership and called him “incompetent.” He plotted with CFO Christine McCarthy to oust him and take back the company.
Since he took back the reigns, DeSantis targeted Disney’s special taxing district, replaced its board with his allies and led the charge to change the name of the Reedy district to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
Before the DeSantis-elected board took control, Disney created development contracts for future investments. Those were thrown out by the new board, leading to a federal lawsuit.
Disney’s then CEO, Bob Chapek (pictured), started the fight with the Florida government after he criticized the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis (pictured) targeted Disney’s special tax district, replaced its board with his allies
Iger (pictured) revealed in September the company would ‘shut down the noise’ around cultural issues because it was shown to be bad for business
Disney has since dropped much of its federal lawsuit against the Florida governor.
They asked a federal judge for permission to file an amended complaint focusing only on the First Amendment claim, which was granted.
DeSantis urged Disney to drop his case as he moved on to run for president.
Over the summer, in an interview with CNBC, Iger slammed actors who were on strike, saying they “are not realistic” and “disruptive” to the industry.
Actors were outraged by his comments. Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, said Iger was “tone deaf” and “repulsive.”
“If I were that company, I would lock him behind doors and never let him talk to anyone about this,” she said.
Now Peltz, father of Brooklyn Beckham’s wife Nicola, is competing again for a place on the company’s board. The billionaire now owns about $2.5 billion worth of Disney shares after his company boosted their number to about 30 million.
Peltz’s first proxy war in January called on Disney to “restore the magic” amid criticism that the media conglomerate has become too political.
He withdrew from the initial fight after Iger unveiled a cost-cutting plan that involved 7,000 layoffs and restructuring to save about $5.5 billion.
Iger has extended his contract until 2026 and has hinted that he will step down again at that point, once a proper successor has been found and named.
Since his return, Iger has restructured Disney into three new pillars: Entertainment, Parks, Experiences and Products and ESPN.
A recent SEC filing shows that they will spend $60 million over the next 10 years on its parks and cruises – and Walt Disney World in Orlando is expected to be at the forefront of the investment.
Disney has dropped the price of children’s tickets to as low as $50 in an effort to boost ticket sales.
The company was faced with losing the Disney+ streaming business, which is not expected to become profitable until next year.
Iger served as the company’s CEO from 2005 to 2020, and has been praised for building the streaming service Disney+. He came out of retirement in early 2021 when Disney’s value fell below $160 billion
Peltz (pictured) first launched a proxy war in January calling on Disney to ‘restore the magic’ amid criticism that the media conglomerate has become too political. He backed off when Iger agreed to make cuts, but he seems to be on the rise again
Iger is working to fix the company’s significant financial setbacks. They face an estimated loss of nearly $900 million after a series of disappointing wake-up calls
The movie division, which had thrived under Iger’s first tenure, was hemorrhaging.
The company is facing a loss of nearly $900 million after a string of wake flops at the box office.
Disney’s TV division is also seeing losses and some believe Iger plans to sell Disney to Apple Inc.
In April, the boss gifted 30,000 of the company’s employees with physical copies of Steve Jobs’ posthumously published collection of speeches and notes.
Iger found himself increasingly isolated and, according to Disney executives, he overlooked successors Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs to help him sell parts of the business.
He cruised the Amalfi Coast in August before delivering a subpar earnings report. Then in September, when stock prices hit rock bottom, he was laid up at home recovering from hip surgery.
Friends said that when asked about his return, the Disney CEO joked, ‘Why did I come back?’
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Walt Disney Company for comment.