Activist investor Nelson Peltz says it’s ‘probably true’ that he’s a ‘bully billionaire’
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That description of the 81-year-old billionaire behind investment fund Trian Partners, which is waging a $25 million war to win two seats on Disney’s board, surfaced after he sued wedding planners for his daughter Nicola’s nuptials over failing to return a $159,000 deposit once he’d fired them — nine days after hiring them.
The wedding planners filed a countersuit, in which they called Peltz a “billionaire bully,” saying the family made unreasonable demands on short notice, The Independent reported.
The suits were later settled, but the wedding planners made a fair enough assessment of how he lives his life. That’s what he told the Financial Times in an interview published Friday, in which he also discussed the fight with Disney’s existing board.
“What sense is being a billionaire if you’re not a bully?” FT reported Peltz said of his reputation. He added: “They got a great deal for doing nothing. But that’s water under the bridge.”
Peltz is spearheading a contentious effort to gain control over two Disney board seats in an election set for April 3 — a move he has made at four other companies Trian has invested in — to gain more control over the company and bolster its diminished share value.
According to Variety, Trian holds a 1.8% stake in Disney, or 32.3 million shares worth $3.6 billion.
In a letter to shareholders earlier this month blasting Disney’s management for a decade of underperforming in the stock market, Trian cited “years of seemingly poor choices and failed strategies” as reasons it should take more control of the entertainment company.
Disney has fought back, with CEO Bob Iger saying in a recorded statement for shareholders that efforts from activist investors like Trian are “major distractions” that are “exactly what we don’t need.”
Trian’s reputation as one of the fiercest investment firms has faltered in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported, with its assets slipping from about $12.5 billion in 2015 to about $10 billion now, and the fund’s money coming largely from investors in Asia and the Middle East rather than American backers.
“Disney is stupid because I’m not trying to fire Bob Iger, I want to help him,” FT reported Peltz said: “We don’t fire CEOs.”
Representatives for Trian and Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. A spokesperson for Disney previously pointed BI to a recent investor presentation titled “Correcting Trian’s Fiction with Facts,” which lambasted the fund’s effort, saying: “You don’t manage creativity the way you manage a hedge fund.”
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