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Activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management is reportedly expected to push for several board seats at Walt Disney Co., whose share have been under pressure from Hollywood strikes and struggles for its streaming businesses.
Citing sources, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Trian has boosted its Disney
DIS,
stake to more than 30 million shares in recent months, from a 6.4 million holding at the end of the second quarter. With a stake worth $2.5 billion or more, Trian plans to push for a seat for its founding partner Peltz, and several others, those sources said.
A refusal by Disney would mean Trian could then nominate directors for a vote at the annual Spring meeting. Peltz attempted to get a board seat earlier this year, but backed off after a Disney revamp and cost cuts that boosted shares. But the stock has lost 4.5% this year, and Trian is of the view it needs a more focused board, the sources said.
Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoon last week initiated coverage of Disney shares with an outperform rating, writing that while he has a bearish view on the company’s linear-media business, Disney is the only viable challenger to Netflix
NFLX,
especially as the company looks to buy the remaining portion of Hulu that it doesn’t already own.
MarketWatch has reached out to Disney and Trian for comment.
