Activist Investor Trying to Trap the Mouse

Disney’s tussle with activist investor Nelson Peltz rages on. He's trying to secure two board seats for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo, but Disney isn't going down without a fight. They've gone on the offensive on their Vote Disney website, refuting nine of Peltz's claims and pushing hard to keep control of their Board of Directors.

Disney has been pretty thorough in challenging Peltz's arguments, questioning everything from his investment track record to Rasulo's financial expertise. Peltz said he's helped 11 companies he's worked with, but Disney pointed out that around 68% of them underperformed the S&P 500.

There's also been some talk about Disney's global streaming services, which Disney has defended against Peltz's claims. Disney's been having more than 20 "meaningful interactions" with Peltz, so it's not like they're not listening.

But all of this is happening while Disney's trying to bring new life into their franchises, make money from their streaming services, and enhance ESPN's digital prospects. CEO Bob Iger thinks all this activism is just a "distraction," but Disney's still trying hard to come out on top.

There's also another hedge fund called Blackwells Capital that's trying to get support for three of their nominees to Walt Disney's board. The nominees have some interesting backgrounds, so it could be good to see some fresh ideas.

It's a pretty intense battle, with both sides trying to win shareholders over. But Disney's pretty confident that they'll come out of this stronger than ever.

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