Disney Pushes Back Against Nelson Peltz’s Quest for Board Seat
Mr. Peltz, 80, has repeatedly criticized Mr. Iger for orchestrating Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets in 2019. That acquisition, along with the pandemic, loaded Disney with some $45 billion in debt. Mr. Peltz has said that Disney drastically overpaid. The deal, though, brought two highly regarded executives — Dana Walden, who is now Disney’s entertainment television chief, and John Landgraf, who runs FX Networks — into the Disney fold. It also gave Disney ownership of “The Simpsons.”
Mr. Peltz does not want to remove Mr. Iger as chief executive, according to one of the people briefed on the matter. Instead, he wants Disney to change its succession plan so that Mr. Iger’s current term will be his last.
Mr. Iger served as Disney’s chief executive from 2005 to 2020, a period of spectacular growth. But he postponed his retirement four times, sidelining would-be successors, several of whom ended up leaving the company. In early 2020, Mr. Iger abruptly stepped down and named Bob Chapek, then Disney’s theme park chairman, as his successor.
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Mr. Chapek was dealt an unenviable hand: He had to deal with the pandemic, which left most of Disney’s businesses badly damaged. Ultimately, however, Mr. Chapek stumbled more than he succeeded, enmeshing Disney in a political imbroglio in Florida, running up drastic losses in streaming and alienating important creative partners in Hollywood. Disney fired Mr. Chapek in November and brought Mr. Iger out of retirement to retake the reins. The board gave Mr. Iger a two-year contract.
Before he was ousted, Mr. Chapek announced that Disney would “look for every avenue of operations and labor to find savings.” That initiative, though delayed by the upheaval atop Disney, is continuing and expected to include layoffs. Mr. Iger has also announced a restructuring that will change how Disney’s streaming services operate. Disney’s direct-to-consumer unit racked up $1.5 billion in losses in the most-recent quarter, up from $630 million in the same period a year ago.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/11/business/disney-board-nelson-peltz.html