Disney's communications and shareholder relations teams are going in overdrive. I'm getting the sense that Peltz is unprepared for the full-on assault of Disney PR in the mainstream media. He's not the first though. I could tell DeSantis also got somewhat overwhelmed by the full-court press Disney's communications team conducted. This leaked story about Trian not voting for Iger is a good example. An "anonymous" person "familiar with the matter" leaks Trian didn't vote for Iger. This is the sort of tactics that gets used in political campaigns. Peltz has not been nearly as effective at responding to Disney's assaults.
Does that mean that Peltz is going to lose? Not necessarily. While losses in the mainstream-media space hurt, I don't think they'll end up being decisive. But the more stuff Disney can dredge up, the better for their outcome.
I'm still waiting for how the Murdoch family votes. That's going to be an essential one. My initial inclination was that their blocks of shares would vote for Iger. But...
"Rupert Murdoch is a good friend of mine."
~Nelson Peltz
CNBC Exclusive: CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin Interviews Nelson Peltz & Ken Moelis from CNBC's Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference Today
www.cnbc.com
I've tried to figure out their current ownership. I saw some rumors that the shares were divided amongst the family members. Lachlan, I could see leaning Iger. But if Rupert still has 4%+ of Disney under his control and is friends with Peltz... I mean, that could be significant. That would be quite the betrayal though.
We're going to need to see what happens in the next few days on endorsements. I'm still anticipating an Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg to come out in favor of Iger. They're well-liked people who are friends with Iger. Many more surrogates are in the wings waiting for their reveal!