Disney fights back! Board claims Nelson Peltz 'doesn't understand' the business

Disney is fighting back against billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz's bid for a board seat, submitting a 16-page slideshow to the SEC that lays out why they think he's the wrong man for the job. 

Peltz, the 80-year-old father of Brooklyn Beckham's wife Nicola, last week submitted a request to the SEC for a seat at the Mickey Mouse table. 

He pointed out how Disney had underperformed the S&P 500 consistently, and said his business acumen could lead it to success. Peltz owns a 0.5 percent stake in Disney through his firm Trian Partners. 

Now, it will be down to Disney's shareholders to decide whether or not Peltz gets a seat. The vote will take place at the 2023 annual shareholders meeting. A date has not yet been set. 

Disney CEO Bob Iger returned to the company after the brief tenure of Bob Chapek. Now, he's staving off a proxy fight with billionaire Nelson Peltz

Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz, with son-in-law Brooklyn Beckham. He launched a bid for a Disney board seat last week 

He went after Disney's 'poor corporate governance', and said he'd bring a 'leadership mentality' to the company that has gone down in consumers' estimations thanks to a series of woke controversies. 

He also took aim at its 'over the top compensation packages' - an issue that has long been a sore spot for the company. 

Shareholders recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of a change to its policies to ensure more pay transparency. 

When Bob Chapek departed the company last November following a disastrous two year stint, he walked away with a $20million severance package. That was on top of his $24million-a-year compensation package. 

Igerl returned with a base salary of $1million-a-year - but he will also earn $1million in an annual bonus, and has stock options of up to $25million. 

Disney claimed in its rebuttal to Peltz that it is already taking steps to address pay disparity in the company. 

In the slideshow submitted on Tuesday, Disney says: 'Nelson Peltz does not understand Disney's business and lacks the skills and experience to assist the board in delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem.' 

Disney also laid out a series of statements which it says proves Peltz cannot be trusted, and seized on a recent CNBC interview he gave in which he admitted he is 'not an expert' in theme parks. 

Disney submitted a 16-page deck to the SEC on Tuesday explaining its case. The company says Peltz's track record is not suitable for media or tech 

The Disney deck also points out Peltz's 'conflicting' statements as proof of why he shouldn't be trusted

The company also pointed out that Peltz admitted in a recent interview he is 'not an expert' in theme parks 

Disney praised Bob Iger for creating value for shareholders over the last 18 years

Nelson Peltz, the legendary activist investor, is making a play for Disney. Peltz is famously conservative but not in an extreme way: he prefers profits over politics, and tells companies to follow the same philosophy if they want to be successful. Shown with wife Claudia and daughter Nicola

Peltz made a play for Disney with an SEC filing asking for a seat on the board, and with a multi-faceted social media and website campaign to 'restore' its lost 'magic'

Peltz has not yet responded to the filing, which signals the beginning of a long and brutal proxy fight. 

The Brooklyn-born business titan has been known to go after companies which he thinks are harming themselves financially by wading into politics. 

His approach is to put business first. 

Peltz's bid for Disney is not his first attempt to take control - or at least steer - a once-thriving company that he believes has lost its way with virtue signaling.

In September 2021, he did just that with Unilever, the company that owns a range of brands, including Ben & Jerry's. 

During a meeting in London, New York-born Peltz confronted Unilever's CEO, Alan Jope about the famously liberal Ben & Jerry's and its many political statements.

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