BrianL
Doom Buggy Driver
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Yeah, and if they are, I can't really blame Disney for not investing.
DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY
- Thread starter hhisc16
- Start date
Yeah, and if they are, I can't really blame Disney for not investing.
This is the kind of thing that brings on proxy battles - get a gigantic pay package while losing 3-13 Billion on part of your last and largest acquisition...
https://seekingalpha.com/news/40613...nit-sale-at-loss-wsj?utm_source=pocket_reader
isney (NYSE:DIS) has a preliminary deal to sell majority control of its Indian business to billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, the WSJ reported - but at a sharply lower valuation than when it was acquired.
The memorandum of understanding would see Disney (DIS) merging its India business with Viacom18 - a partnership between Reliance, Paramount Global (PARA) (PARAA) and investment fund Bodhi Tree Systems, according to the report -- and Disney would retain ownership of 40%, with Reliance controlling 51% and Bodhi Tree 9%.
And the deal reportedly values the operation at $3.9B; when Disney acquired it via its $71.3B Fox media assets buyout in 2019, the unit was valued somewhere between $7B and $16B.
The transaction -- expected to close in February -- would transfer control of the Star India TV networks and streaming service Hotstar along with a minority stake in Tata Sky, and Viacom18 would supply some $1.5B in cash along with stock.
Notable in Disney's five-year tenure in charge of the business was when Viacom18 outbid Disney for streaming rights to Indian Premier League cricket, dealing a major blow to Disney's streaming customers in the country (to the tune of millions of subscribers).
Disney plans India unit sale at loss - WSJ
https://seekingalpha.com/news/40613...nit-sale-at-loss-wsj?utm_source=pocket_reader
isney (NYSE:DIS) has a preliminary deal to sell majority control of its Indian business to billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, the WSJ reported - but at a sharply lower valuation than when it was acquired.
The memorandum of understanding would see Disney (DIS) merging its India business with Viacom18 - a partnership between Reliance, Paramount Global (PARA) (PARAA) and investment fund Bodhi Tree Systems, according to the report -- and Disney would retain ownership of 40%, with Reliance controlling 51% and Bodhi Tree 9%.
And the deal reportedly values the operation at $3.9B; when Disney acquired it via its $71.3B Fox media assets buyout in 2019, the unit was valued somewhere between $7B and $16B.
The transaction -- expected to close in February -- would transfer control of the Star India TV networks and streaming service Hotstar along with a minority stake in Tata Sky, and Viacom18 would supply some $1.5B in cash along with stock.
Notable in Disney's five-year tenure in charge of the business was when Viacom18 outbid Disney for streaming rights to Indian Premier League cricket, dealing a major blow to Disney's streaming customers in the country (to the tune of millions of subscribers).
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But Wall St, and us informed shareholders, would see right thru that. They have parks around the world without special districts that they are constantly investing in. Aren't they currently building in Paris - one of the highest cost, highest regulated areas of the world?
jade1
I spend half my money on WDW, and waste the rest.
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Hope not. Comes off as a huge win for RD. Shutting down the flagship? Sounds like his goal sadly. Then he gets to watch Epic U go up next door. Nelson could come in and push to throw money at WDW and look like a hero.
wabbott
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Yes, they do. As evidenced by the recent "approval process" for the last two appointments. Does any thinking person believe that Iger DIDN'T have veto power in the decision process?Wait...the board works FOR Iger? And all this time I thought it was the other way around. It all makes sense now.
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HokieRaven5
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Not shutting it down, but slowing it down and making things more difficult for them to accomplish.
Can’t fully shut down or Disney can show irreparable harm at the hands of the board, but if the board just kind of drags their feet on things and is slow to approve anything while Disney parks are still raking it in globally, Disney would have an uphill battle to prove any harm.
BrianL
Doom Buggy Driver
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Yeah, they don't necessarily need their special district, but they do need a district that is not beligerent and confrontational, and will work WITH them and not AGAINST them. Unfortunately, it seems that CFTOD is the latter, so, you know....
wabbott
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https://deadline.com/2024/01/paramo...hari-redstone-national-amusements-1235810285/
Paramount Global Nears Crossroads After Latest Acquisition Offer: What’s Shari Redstone’s Next Move?
By Dade Hayes, Jill Goldsmith
January 31, 2024 - 5:30pm PST
News of Byron Allen’s $30 billion offer (including debt) for Paramount Global has restarted Hollywood’s most active parlor game: Whither Paramount and assets like its 112-year-old film studio and iconic Melrose lot?
Paramount is taking Allen’s bid seriously enough, as Deadline understands it, to form a special board committee to evaluate any potential bids. Shari Redstone, non-executive chair of the company and head of its controlling shareholder, National Amusements, is not a member of the special committee, a person familiar with the body told Deadline. The purpose of excluding her is to provide an extra layer of scrutiny for all potential transactions. David Ellison’s Skydance Media, RedBird Capital and Apollo Global Management have expressed interest in the Paramount assets, and Paramount CEO Bob Bakish discussed a potential combination with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last December.
Conversations with Wall Street and industry veterans on Wednesday elicited a range of reactions to Allen but also highlighted that a decision point is arriving for Redstone. Some question the solidity of the financing for Allen’s proposed deal, noting that backers in a tricky economic climate marked by high interest rates have not yet been identified. They also cite a catalog of offers made by Allen, including for ABC and other Disney TV assets, BET and Tegna, without any reaching fruition.
“People remember the ABC offer. They remember BET. The latest stuff that he’s done hasn’t panned out,” said one fund manager.
Regardless, Redstone is approaching a key decision point barely four years after the merger of CBS and Viacom, a long-sought move envisioned as a crowning achievement as presided over the company built by her late father, Sumner Redstone. The bright vision of that pre-pandemic time has become increasingly clouded. While all of media has been whipsawed by cord-cutting, advertising volatility and the invasion of deep-pocketed tech companies, Paramount has struggled more than most of its peers.
The ailing stock rallied Wednesday as bulls saluted the rich premium of Allen’s proposal to pay $14.3 billion for the company’s equity (relative to the company’s market value of $9.7 billion). Even so, as Paramount’s most recent annual report notes, $100 invested in the company’s Class A (voting) shares at the end of 2017 would have been worth just $37 by the end of 2022, while the S&P 500 and the S&P 500 Media & Entertainment Index posted solid returns. In 2023, that divergence only widened, putting Redstone’s strategy under the spotlight.
Wednesday’s 6% upswing in the share price “is more perhaps because it accelerates what’s already in motion and adds some fuel” to sale talk, one fund manager said.
The state of the company’s financial affairs will be put on display February 28 when fourth-quarter results are reported, with interest running high about trends in advertising and any signs of long-elusive streaming profits.
Significantly, Allen’s offer includes two different takeout prices, one for Redstone’s voting stock in NAI, which is higher, and another for the common stock. “It’s interesting that he is offering a different price for the A versus the B,” the financial source added. “I don’t know if that’s because it’s something that Shari has told people that she is going to need?”
The former stand-up comic has an unconventional approach, in some cases initially communicating his M&A proposals via text message. Regardless of Allen’s “maverick” style, the source added, he has advanced the talk about Paramount from where it was weeks ago, when word first emerged of Ellison’s interest. “It does look like the idea is to sell the whole company instead of just Shari selling her stake.”
Paramount’s dual-class ownership structure presents an interesting twist. Redstone’s combined stake in the company’s Class A and B shares is around 10%. But her nearly 80% of the Class A (voting) shares means that pretty much any bidder would have to buy both Paramount and NAI, as acquiring Paramount alone would still leave Redstone in control. Taking over her stake via NAI, on the other hand, would likely prompt a pileup of lawsuits if the new owner tried to force deals or mergers onto minority shareholders. Another salient detail: The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, is biggest individual shareholder of Paramount, even though he doesn’t control its voting shares. And “he doesn’t like to be taken advantage of,” one observer notes.
A number of others are urging Paramount to act quickly on Allen’s interest before the stock price sinks any lower. KeyBanc Capital analyst Brandon Nispel urged the company to “immediately take this deal,” calling out the all-cash form of the bid as especially appealing.
ADVERTISEMENT
Media analyst Steven Cahall with Wells Fargo sees Allen as credible, disagreeing with skepticism about his spree of prior offers. “Those deals didn’t always have willing sellers,” the analyst wrote in a note to clients. Allen’s diversified media company includes plenty of linear TV, including the Weather Channel and local stations. He not only would want those holdings, but also would likely finance the deal “by lining up a buyer(s) for Paramount Studios + LA real estate,” Cahall added. “These are assets that interested parties like Skydance likely want.”
Skydance, whose bid recently gained support from Ellison’s father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has long been closely aligned with Paramount. The company has financed many of the biggest hits in the studio’s recent history, including Top Gun: Maverick and multiple Mission: Impossible and Transformers installments. Unlike Allen, Ellison is said to be uninterested in the linear TV portfolio and would instead focus on fortifying the movie studio, according to those familiar with his thinking.
Since Allen and Skydance each want different assets, could they team up on an offer?
“There’s taxes and egos involved, and whatever. But yes, it kind of makes sense,” one Wall Streeter reasoned. Still, that division of things is a bit simplistic, he noted – and they wouldn’t need to. Money is not the Ellisons’ problem if they want to do a deal.
Comparing bids head to head, Hollywood insiders say, it’s no contest. Ellison wants a legacy studio badly and they don’t become available often. So, if Ellison père wants to back David Ellison, it’s a done deal – if Shari Redstone truly wants to sell, say a few Hollywood insiders. The question becomes valuation – a delicate matter in light of reports that Allen’s most recent bid was his second for Paramount, with the first coming last April at a price north of $18 billion.
And much as Ellison wants the studio, he’s said to desire the legacy lot as well. That’s perhaps the best outcome for those wanted the lot to stay intact, and not be sold off. Paramount’s lot has deeper roots than any other. Its signature iron gates were fortified in the 1920s, according to Hollywood lore, as a way to keep fans of Rudolph Valentino from overwhelming the silent movie star. It is seen as valuable in an era of booming investment in production facilities in the U.S. and elsewhere, as well as with demand for sound stages surging given all the production backlogs post-pandemic and post-strikes.
Cahall assigns a roughly $2 billion value on the 62-acre lot, the only one still physically located in Hollywood. Theatrical moviegoing may be in an uncertain state, but he sees Paramount’s film output having increased worth in a world of increased licensing to Netflix and other streamers.
Key advantages for the Ellisons as would-be studio operators, investors and insiders note, include money and partners with deep pockets, including Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, another potent investor. “It’s really about looking at how the studio can be managed as a profitable business, looking at the cash flow, and whether a deal makes sense or not,” said one investor.
MoffettNathanson’s Robert Fishman isn’t a believer on Allen ultimately being Redstone’s savior. “In placing a bid for Paramount, Mr. Allen is seeking control of a company with increasingly challenged fundamentals,” Fishman wrote in a client note. “By assuming the totality of the company’s debt, he could run the risk of triggering change of control covenants. Mr. Allen reportedly would seek to sell Paramount’s studio, among other assets, and focus on running the company’s linear networks and streaming service, Paramount+, in a more efficient manner, to which we wish him the best of luck!”
Fishman says questions about Allen’s financing are “casting a shadow on the offer’s credibility.” The overture comes, he noted, with media on its back foot. “The situation in U.S. media has increasingly progressed from challenged to desperate, leaving management teams to consider commensurately desperate measures,” he wrote. “That clearly now includes accelerated M&A talks. In short, we acknowledge the environment in traditional media has shifted away from pure fundamentals with growing interest in these assets, including from some unexpected sources.”
Reps from Paramount, National Amusements and Allen Media Group declined to comment for this story when contacted by Deadline.
Paramount Global Nears Crossroads After Latest Acquisition Offer: What’s Shari Redstone’s Next Move?
By Dade Hayes, Jill Goldsmith
January 31, 2024 - 5:30pm PST
News of Byron Allen’s $30 billion offer (including debt) for Paramount Global has restarted Hollywood’s most active parlor game: Whither Paramount and assets like its 112-year-old film studio and iconic Melrose lot?
Paramount is taking Allen’s bid seriously enough, as Deadline understands it, to form a special board committee to evaluate any potential bids. Shari Redstone, non-executive chair of the company and head of its controlling shareholder, National Amusements, is not a member of the special committee, a person familiar with the body told Deadline. The purpose of excluding her is to provide an extra layer of scrutiny for all potential transactions. David Ellison’s Skydance Media, RedBird Capital and Apollo Global Management have expressed interest in the Paramount assets, and Paramount CEO Bob Bakish discussed a potential combination with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last December.
Conversations with Wall Street and industry veterans on Wednesday elicited a range of reactions to Allen but also highlighted that a decision point is arriving for Redstone. Some question the solidity of the financing for Allen’s proposed deal, noting that backers in a tricky economic climate marked by high interest rates have not yet been identified. They also cite a catalog of offers made by Allen, including for ABC and other Disney TV assets, BET and Tegna, without any reaching fruition.
“People remember the ABC offer. They remember BET. The latest stuff that he’s done hasn’t panned out,” said one fund manager.
Regardless, Redstone is approaching a key decision point barely four years after the merger of CBS and Viacom, a long-sought move envisioned as a crowning achievement as presided over the company built by her late father, Sumner Redstone. The bright vision of that pre-pandemic time has become increasingly clouded. While all of media has been whipsawed by cord-cutting, advertising volatility and the invasion of deep-pocketed tech companies, Paramount has struggled more than most of its peers.
The ailing stock rallied Wednesday as bulls saluted the rich premium of Allen’s proposal to pay $14.3 billion for the company’s equity (relative to the company’s market value of $9.7 billion). Even so, as Paramount’s most recent annual report notes, $100 invested in the company’s Class A (voting) shares at the end of 2017 would have been worth just $37 by the end of 2022, while the S&P 500 and the S&P 500 Media & Entertainment Index posted solid returns. In 2023, that divergence only widened, putting Redstone’s strategy under the spotlight.
Wednesday’s 6% upswing in the share price “is more perhaps because it accelerates what’s already in motion and adds some fuel” to sale talk, one fund manager said.
The state of the company’s financial affairs will be put on display February 28 when fourth-quarter results are reported, with interest running high about trends in advertising and any signs of long-elusive streaming profits.
Significantly, Allen’s offer includes two different takeout prices, one for Redstone’s voting stock in NAI, which is higher, and another for the common stock. “It’s interesting that he is offering a different price for the A versus the B,” the financial source added. “I don’t know if that’s because it’s something that Shari has told people that she is going to need?”
The former stand-up comic has an unconventional approach, in some cases initially communicating his M&A proposals via text message. Regardless of Allen’s “maverick” style, the source added, he has advanced the talk about Paramount from where it was weeks ago, when word first emerged of Ellison’s interest. “It does look like the idea is to sell the whole company instead of just Shari selling her stake.”
Paramount’s dual-class ownership structure presents an interesting twist. Redstone’s combined stake in the company’s Class A and B shares is around 10%. But her nearly 80% of the Class A (voting) shares means that pretty much any bidder would have to buy both Paramount and NAI, as acquiring Paramount alone would still leave Redstone in control. Taking over her stake via NAI, on the other hand, would likely prompt a pileup of lawsuits if the new owner tried to force deals or mergers onto minority shareholders. Another salient detail: The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, is biggest individual shareholder of Paramount, even though he doesn’t control its voting shares. And “he doesn’t like to be taken advantage of,” one observer notes.
A number of others are urging Paramount to act quickly on Allen’s interest before the stock price sinks any lower. KeyBanc Capital analyst Brandon Nispel urged the company to “immediately take this deal,” calling out the all-cash form of the bid as especially appealing.
ADVERTISEMENT
Media analyst Steven Cahall with Wells Fargo sees Allen as credible, disagreeing with skepticism about his spree of prior offers. “Those deals didn’t always have willing sellers,” the analyst wrote in a note to clients. Allen’s diversified media company includes plenty of linear TV, including the Weather Channel and local stations. He not only would want those holdings, but also would likely finance the deal “by lining up a buyer(s) for Paramount Studios + LA real estate,” Cahall added. “These are assets that interested parties like Skydance likely want.”
Skydance, whose bid recently gained support from Ellison’s father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has long been closely aligned with Paramount. The company has financed many of the biggest hits in the studio’s recent history, including Top Gun: Maverick and multiple Mission: Impossible and Transformers installments. Unlike Allen, Ellison is said to be uninterested in the linear TV portfolio and would instead focus on fortifying the movie studio, according to those familiar with his thinking.
Since Allen and Skydance each want different assets, could they team up on an offer?
“There’s taxes and egos involved, and whatever. But yes, it kind of makes sense,” one Wall Streeter reasoned. Still, that division of things is a bit simplistic, he noted – and they wouldn’t need to. Money is not the Ellisons’ problem if they want to do a deal.
Comparing bids head to head, Hollywood insiders say, it’s no contest. Ellison wants a legacy studio badly and they don’t become available often. So, if Ellison père wants to back David Ellison, it’s a done deal – if Shari Redstone truly wants to sell, say a few Hollywood insiders. The question becomes valuation – a delicate matter in light of reports that Allen’s most recent bid was his second for Paramount, with the first coming last April at a price north of $18 billion.
And much as Ellison wants the studio, he’s said to desire the legacy lot as well. That’s perhaps the best outcome for those wanted the lot to stay intact, and not be sold off. Paramount’s lot has deeper roots than any other. Its signature iron gates were fortified in the 1920s, according to Hollywood lore, as a way to keep fans of Rudolph Valentino from overwhelming the silent movie star. It is seen as valuable in an era of booming investment in production facilities in the U.S. and elsewhere, as well as with demand for sound stages surging given all the production backlogs post-pandemic and post-strikes.
Cahall assigns a roughly $2 billion value on the 62-acre lot, the only one still physically located in Hollywood. Theatrical moviegoing may be in an uncertain state, but he sees Paramount’s film output having increased worth in a world of increased licensing to Netflix and other streamers.
Key advantages for the Ellisons as would-be studio operators, investors and insiders note, include money and partners with deep pockets, including Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, another potent investor. “It’s really about looking at how the studio can be managed as a profitable business, looking at the cash flow, and whether a deal makes sense or not,” said one investor.
MoffettNathanson’s Robert Fishman isn’t a believer on Allen ultimately being Redstone’s savior. “In placing a bid for Paramount, Mr. Allen is seeking control of a company with increasingly challenged fundamentals,” Fishman wrote in a client note. “By assuming the totality of the company’s debt, he could run the risk of triggering change of control covenants. Mr. Allen reportedly would seek to sell Paramount’s studio, among other assets, and focus on running the company’s linear networks and streaming service, Paramount+, in a more efficient manner, to which we wish him the best of luck!”
Fishman says questions about Allen’s financing are “casting a shadow on the offer’s credibility.” The overture comes, he noted, with media on its back foot. “The situation in U.S. media has increasingly progressed from challenged to desperate, leaving management teams to consider commensurately desperate measures,” he wrote. “That clearly now includes accelerated M&A talks. In short, we acknowledge the environment in traditional media has shifted away from pure fundamentals with growing interest in these assets, including from some unexpected sources.”
Reps from Paramount, National Amusements and Allen Media Group declined to comment for this story when contacted by Deadline.
jade1
I spend half my money on WDW, and waste the rest.
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- 11,638
That's what's I meant sorry, slowing the flagship to a crawl. Probably be all happy about it, unlike us guests.
clarker99
DIS Veteran
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- May 15, 2019
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Such petulance.
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- Apr 29, 2004
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- 38,141
As expected, Disney filed its notice of appeal the very next day.
Obi-J Kenobi
Jedi Knight
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- Mar 15, 2021
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Yeah, so I'm a municipal attorney, and this is very similar to what I hear from upset landowners when the zoning department tells them "no, you can't build that building".
One of the most wonderful things about America is that you can build anything you want, but you can't build it anywhere you want. That's why zoning exists.
Confrontation and belligerence is the way of America today. That's sad and pathetic, but very true also.
I would prefer RCID still exist, but at the same time, I don't think that the confrontation and belligerence is solely from CFTOD. There is plenty blame to share here.
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wabbott
DIS Veteran
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- 6,450
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nelson-peltz-makes-pitch-disney-211836649.html
Nelson Peltz Makes Pitch to Get Disney’s Creative Engine Firing Again
Crystal Tse
Thu, Feb 1, 2024, 4:00 PM CST
(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire activist Nelson Peltz has formalized his pitch to Walt Disney Co. investors to back his bid for a revamp of oversight and strategy at the media and entertainment giant.
After months of public sparring with Disney, Peltz’s Trian Fund Management on Thursday sent a long-awaited letter to other shareholders, in which it outlined its plans for improving performance at the Burbank, California-based company.
In the letter, seen by Bloomberg News, Trian said Disney investors had collectively seen almost $200 billion wiped off the value of their holdings in less than three years, in part because of a poorly-managed streaming business and insufficient development of flagship theme parks.
“Disney’s recent creative efforts have disappointed its once-loyal customer base and have caused losses for shareholders,” Trian wrote in the letter. Trian holds about $3 billion in Disney stock. Shares in Disney are down about 11% over the last 12 months, giving the company a market value of roughly $178 billion.
A representative for Disney had no immediate comment.
Bloomberg News reported this week that Peltz wants Disney, led by Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, to chase profitability in streaming by bundling its ESPN+ online service with a larger player interested in sports, such as Netflix Inc.
Parks, Cruises
In Thursday’s letter, Trian also questioned Disney’s plan to invest $60 billion in its parks and cruise lines over the next 10 years. “Disney has failed to answer how it plans to compete with Universal’s new attractions, why it has not kept pace with development, how and where this money will be spent, or what returns shareholders can expect to earn on this massive investment.”
In what’s shaping up to be one of the biggest battles of the upcoming US proxy season, Trian is trying to get Peltz and Jay Rasulo, a former chief financial officer at Disney, elected to the company’s board at its next annual general meeting set for April 3. It’s urged investors not to reelect existing directors Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman.
Trian said in its letter that Peltz and Rasulo would, among other things, initiate a board-led review of creative processes at Disney, formulate a plan for the streaming business, align pay and performance of senior leadership and come up with a succession process.
In its own filing Thursday, Disney said its succession planning committee met six times last year, as well as with an executive search firm, to review both internal and external candidates to succeed Iger.
Proxy Battle
Blackwells Capital, which has a smaller investment in Disney, is separately seeking votes for its three director nominees, Jessica Schell, Craig Hatkoff and Leah Solivan.
Disney has rejected both the slates of Trian and Blackwells and has instead appointed Morgan Stanley Chairman James Gorman and Jeremy Darroch, a former executive at media company Sky, as new directors on its 12-person board.
CEO Iger has taken other steps to help Disney stave off pressure from Peltz. In January, Disney agreed to consult on strategy with ValueAct Capital Management, another activist investor, which has pledged to support the company’s board.
--With assistance from Christopher Palmeri and Thomas Buckley.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walt-disney-company-highlights-strength-221000909.html
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trian-files-definitive-proxy-statement-212200877.html
Nelson Peltz Makes Pitch to Get Disney’s Creative Engine Firing Again
Crystal Tse
Thu, Feb 1, 2024, 4:00 PM CST
(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire activist Nelson Peltz has formalized his pitch to Walt Disney Co. investors to back his bid for a revamp of oversight and strategy at the media and entertainment giant.
After months of public sparring with Disney, Peltz’s Trian Fund Management on Thursday sent a long-awaited letter to other shareholders, in which it outlined its plans for improving performance at the Burbank, California-based company.
In the letter, seen by Bloomberg News, Trian said Disney investors had collectively seen almost $200 billion wiped off the value of their holdings in less than three years, in part because of a poorly-managed streaming business and insufficient development of flagship theme parks.
“Disney’s recent creative efforts have disappointed its once-loyal customer base and have caused losses for shareholders,” Trian wrote in the letter. Trian holds about $3 billion in Disney stock. Shares in Disney are down about 11% over the last 12 months, giving the company a market value of roughly $178 billion.
A representative for Disney had no immediate comment.
Bloomberg News reported this week that Peltz wants Disney, led by Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, to chase profitability in streaming by bundling its ESPN+ online service with a larger player interested in sports, such as Netflix Inc.
Parks, Cruises
In Thursday’s letter, Trian also questioned Disney’s plan to invest $60 billion in its parks and cruise lines over the next 10 years. “Disney has failed to answer how it plans to compete with Universal’s new attractions, why it has not kept pace with development, how and where this money will be spent, or what returns shareholders can expect to earn on this massive investment.”
In what’s shaping up to be one of the biggest battles of the upcoming US proxy season, Trian is trying to get Peltz and Jay Rasulo, a former chief financial officer at Disney, elected to the company’s board at its next annual general meeting set for April 3. It’s urged investors not to reelect existing directors Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman.
Trian said in its letter that Peltz and Rasulo would, among other things, initiate a board-led review of creative processes at Disney, formulate a plan for the streaming business, align pay and performance of senior leadership and come up with a succession process.
In its own filing Thursday, Disney said its succession planning committee met six times last year, as well as with an executive search firm, to review both internal and external candidates to succeed Iger.
Proxy Battle
Blackwells Capital, which has a smaller investment in Disney, is separately seeking votes for its three director nominees, Jessica Schell, Craig Hatkoff and Leah Solivan.
Disney has rejected both the slates of Trian and Blackwells and has instead appointed Morgan Stanley Chairman James Gorman and Jeremy Darroch, a former executive at media company Sky, as new directors on its 12-person board.
CEO Iger has taken other steps to help Disney stave off pressure from Peltz. In January, Disney agreed to consult on strategy with ValueAct Capital Management, another activist investor, which has pledged to support the company’s board.
--With assistance from Christopher Palmeri and Thomas Buckley.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walt-disney-company-highlights-strength-221000909.html
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trian-files-definitive-proxy-statement-212200877.html
clarker99
DIS Veteran
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- May 15, 2019
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Wait, you think this is about zoning? Lol.
DeeBee3
I'm not grumpy; you're too happy.
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Not stock-specific, but as a business, Disney is really confounding me. I don't know how the stock price is even staying where it is after the Epic Universe announcement. So much progress on such a large project and Disney can't finish Epcot after years. Things happen, of course, but you can't blame it on your local regulations or environment. Things are always being built and improved at parks across the world (I know Asian parks not owned by TWDC), but Disney is just looking cheap.
Only way they will learn is if it hits them in the wallet. Not sure any of the board will ever feel that pinch.
Only way they will learn is if it hits them in the wallet. Not sure any of the board will ever feel that pinch.
Obi-J Kenobi
Jedi Knight
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No, sadly, this is about confrontation and belligerence. One side always has to be right and the other side always has to be wrong.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 4, 2021
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- 6,450
https://deadline.com/2024/02/charter-stock-plunges-quarterly-earnings-broadband-losses-1235812198/
Charter Stock Plunges After Quarterly Earnings Miss, Surprising Broadband Losses
By Dade Hayes - Business Editor @dadehayes February 2, 2024 - 7:20am PST
Shares in Charter Communications dropped 13% Friday morning after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and a surprising loss of broadband subscribers.
Charter said it lost 61,000 internet customers in the quarter ending December 31, compared with Wall Street analysts’ expectation for a slight gain.
The stock was at $336.24 on heavier-than-normal trading volume.
Earnings of $7.07 tumbled from $7.69 in the same quarter a year earlier and also fell way below analysts’ consensus forecast for $8.73. Total revenue was flat at $13.7 billion, matching Street estimates.
Charter’s broadband woes follow rival Comcast’s quarterly report last month, which included the loss of 34,000 internet subscribers, wider than its year-earlier losses. Broadband has been seen as a bulwark for longtime cable providers battling through a period of widespread cord-cutting.
“Internet growth in our existing footprint has been challenging, driven by admittedly more persistent competition from fixed wireless and similar levels of wireline overbuild activity,” CEO Chris Winfrey said during a conference call with analysts. He characterized the issues in the quarter as “temporary challenges.”
The company said it shed 248,000 residential video customers in the quarter of 2023, compared to a decline of 145,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022. The losses were “partly driven by video disconnects related to the temporary loss of Disney programming in early September” during a carriage dispute, the company said in its earnings release. Charter ended the year with 13.5 million residential video customers. Video revenue, accordingly, fell 8% in the quarter.
There was minimal talk of the Disney fight during the earnings call. Winfrey highlighted the launch of Xumo, a joint venture with Comcast, during the fourth quarter. Xumo aims to present a streamlined interface for streaming customers. Strategically, Winfrey said it also fits with the company’s plans to “modernize” its distribution agreements in the vein of its Disney carriage deal, preventing “customers from paying twice” for video in pay-TV and streaming.
Charter Stock Plunges After Quarterly Earnings Miss, Surprising Broadband Losses
By Dade Hayes - Business Editor @dadehayes February 2, 2024 - 7:20am PST
Shares in Charter Communications dropped 13% Friday morning after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and a surprising loss of broadband subscribers.
Charter said it lost 61,000 internet customers in the quarter ending December 31, compared with Wall Street analysts’ expectation for a slight gain.
The stock was at $336.24 on heavier-than-normal trading volume.
Earnings of $7.07 tumbled from $7.69 in the same quarter a year earlier and also fell way below analysts’ consensus forecast for $8.73. Total revenue was flat at $13.7 billion, matching Street estimates.
Charter’s broadband woes follow rival Comcast’s quarterly report last month, which included the loss of 34,000 internet subscribers, wider than its year-earlier losses. Broadband has been seen as a bulwark for longtime cable providers battling through a period of widespread cord-cutting.
“Internet growth in our existing footprint has been challenging, driven by admittedly more persistent competition from fixed wireless and similar levels of wireline overbuild activity,” CEO Chris Winfrey said during a conference call with analysts. He characterized the issues in the quarter as “temporary challenges.”
The company said it shed 248,000 residential video customers in the quarter of 2023, compared to a decline of 145,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022. The losses were “partly driven by video disconnects related to the temporary loss of Disney programming in early September” during a carriage dispute, the company said in its earnings release. Charter ended the year with 13.5 million residential video customers. Video revenue, accordingly, fell 8% in the quarter.
There was minimal talk of the Disney fight during the earnings call. Winfrey highlighted the launch of Xumo, a joint venture with Comcast, during the fourth quarter. Xumo aims to present a streamlined interface for streaming customers. Strategically, Winfrey said it also fits with the company’s plans to “modernize” its distribution agreements in the vein of its Disney carriage deal, preventing “customers from paying twice” for video in pay-TV and streaming.
clarker99
DIS Veteran
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- May 15, 2019
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- 1,122
Fiscal Year 2016 through 2023 (as far back as I can go where they broke out domestic vs International capex):
Disney Domestic Parks Capital Expenditure: $19.7B.
Disney International Parks Capital Expenditure: $7.4B
fatmanatee
DIS Veteran
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- Jul 25, 2017
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Investors aren't concerned about parks stuff right now, and everything about the EU announcement was basically known for years, they just made it official.
jade1
I spend half my money on WDW, and waste the rest.
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- Dec 30, 2001
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- 11,638
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