Walt Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger (center) and JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon (left) at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York on September 25, 2019 Give a speech.
Kena Betancur AFP | Getty Images
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon expressed his approval disney Chief executive Bob Iger is in a proxy fight with activist Trian Partners, CNBC’s David Faber has learned.
Dimon issued the following statement to Faber about Iger:
“Bob is a top-notch executive and outstanding leader that I have known for decades. He knows the media and entertainment industry inside out and has a successful track record to prove it. It is a complex industry filled with creative talent, It requires the unique expertise and dedication that Bob possesses. Putting people on the board unnecessarily could harm the company. I don’t know why shareholders would take that risk, especially given the significant gains the company has made since Bob’s return. progress.”
Trian, led by Nelson Peltz, has launched a bitter proxy fight against Disney, asking investors to nominate him and Disney’s former CFO at its annual shareholder meeting on April 3 Jay Rasulo joins the board.
Nelson Peltz
David A. Grogan | David A. Grogan CNBC
on page 133 white paper In a report released earlier this month, Peltz outlined calls for a shakeup of leadership and an overhaul of Disney’s legacy TV channels, which he believes have been shrinking. The activist also wants Disney to aim for “Netflix-like profit margins” of 15% to 20% by 2027. Peltz considers Netflix to be Disney’s biggest competitor.
At the same time, Iger has been working to streamline the massive media company to control spending and make its Disney+ streaming platform profitable. Iger undertook a broad restructuring that included thousands of layoffs.
In February, Disney reported blowout quarterly results, with earnings beating estimates, streaming losses narrowing and upbeat guidance as the company made progress in cutting costs. However, the report did not satisfy Peltz.
Dimon has rarely been involved in proxy fights, and JPMorgan does have a history of advising Disney on defense issues.
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