Bob Iger’s Full Nelson

"The King's Man" World Premiere - Arrivals
Iconic investor Nelson Peltz’s battle with Disney, and its equally iconic C.E.O. Bob Iger, is looming. Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage
William D. Cohan
January 15, 2023

Sure, Nelson Peltz and his hedge fund, Trian Partners, have only a roughly $940 million stake in Disney, equal to a 0.516 percent ownership position in the company. And, sure, Bob Iger may think he has bigger problems than the 80-year-old activist—to wit: whether to spin off ESPN with some of Disney’s $50 billion in debt, or whether to buy the rest of Hulu (and when) from Comcast, or how to repair morale inside the company after the ouster of Bob Chapek. There is also, of course, the matter of Disney’s money-sucking streaming project, which cashiered nearly $1.5 billion in the last reported quarter, and a moribund stock price, which is down 35 percent in the last year. Peltz’s demand for a board seat might sound like a trifle by comparison.