Power struggle: Nelson Peltz is seeking two seats on the- Disney board
The power struggle at Disney intensified last night after Nelson Peltz won influential backing in his battle with the board.
Ahead of a crunch vote next month, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended investors elect the activist investor as a director to hold executives to account.
But 81-year-old Peltz, whose daughter Nicola is married to David and Victoria Beckham’s son Brooklyn, is seeking two seats on the board of the media giant amid concerns about its performance under veteran boss Bob Iger.
But Iger, 73, has won heavyweight backing of his own, including from Star Wars creator George Lucas, who this week declared: ‘No one knows Disney better.’
Lucas, a shareholder in Disney since it bought his company Lucasfilm in 2012, added: ‘Creating magic is not for amateurs.’
ISS, whose recommendations can sway hundreds of investors’ votes, said as a large Disney shareholder Peltz could ensure the board does its job well as it tackles questions of succession at the top and strategy at the home of Mickey Mouse.
ISS said: ‘Peltz could be additive to the succession process.’
