A leading activist investor has sued Disney over its relationship with another shareholder, as the long-running boardroom battle intensifies.
In a lawsuit filed this week, US hedge fund Blackwells Capital has laid out concerns about whether fellow shareholder ValueAct was paid to take a pro-Disney position in a brewing fight with activists.
It follows the media giant’s decision in January to agree an ‘information sharing’ deal with ValueAct, which ultimately secured backing for the company’s leadership team.
Blackwells has requested ‘books and records’ to ‘determine whether wrongdoing, mismanagement, or breaches of fiduciary duty’ have taken place. But the legal clash comes days before Disney’s annual meeting where shareholders will vote on the direction of the business.
The company behind Mickey Mouse and Marvel has come under mounting pressure as Blackwells and Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management push for seats on the board.
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Both funds argue that Disney has lost its sparkle under chief executive Bob Iger, with New York-based Trian criticising reckless spending and ‘over-the-top’ executive pay. And Blackwell’s legal action is undoubtedly another setback for Disney. A spokesman for the company said the claims made by Blackwells were ‘baseless’ and described the complaint as an ‘attempt to gain attention for their slate of director candidates.’
But despite the pressure, Iger has attracted some heavyweight backers, including Star Wars creator George Lucas.
‘Creating magic is not for amateurs,’ Lucas said last week. ‘When Bob recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved. No one knows Disney better.’
Lucas is a major Disney shareholder, having received 37.1m shares as part of its £3billion takeover of Lucasfilm in 2012.
Other defenders include JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon and members of the family of Walt Disney himself.
Last week Peltz defended the boardroom battle. ‘I’m not trying to fire Bob Iger, I want to help him,’ he said.
