Disney Defends “Highly Qualified Board And Clear Strategy”, Reveals Date Of Annual Shareholder Meeting As Trian Renews Attacks In Proxy Fight

The Walt Disney Co. has come out in defense of its “highly qualified board and clear strategy” for growth and share price gains as activist investment firm Trian Capital issued its latest attacks on the company.

The annual , which could see the biggest tumult in two decades for the media giant, has been set for April 3.

Trian, co-founded by Nelson Peltz, has aligned with former Marvel boss Ike Perlmutter in an attack on Disney’s stagnating share price. Peltz has criticized Disney management, including CEO Bob Iger, and Trian has recommended shareholders withhold support of two of Disney’s board nominees and instead put Peltz and ex-Disney CFO Jay Rasulo on the 12-member board.

In its latest letter to shareholders today, Trian reiterated its complaints of the past several weeks, saying streaming flagship Disney+ has been “mismanaged,” ESPN lacks Direction and the movie studio’s creative engine has “stalled.”

Disney responded with a statement maintaining it “has the right strategy to drive profitable growth and value creation for shareholders and has made substantial progress against our objectives to make our business more efficient and effective, including a sharpened focus on our greatest brand and franchise assets, a continued commitment to cutting costs and a reinstatement of the dividend.

The company, its management and the board “remain focused on this building plan,” the statement continued, “which will position our streaming businesses for sustained growth and profitability, reinvigorate the company’s film studios, fortify ESPN for the future and turbocharge growth in Disney’s Experiences business.

Disney, which has rebuffed multiple efforts from investors to put forward their own board candidates, reiterated its view that all 12 of its own nominees “are best qualified to create sustainable shareholder value.”