Disney has added James P. Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s chief executive, and Jeremy Darroch, who once headed up Sky, a British television company, to the Walt Disney Co. Board. The move is likely in response to “activist investors” Nelson Peltz with Trian Group and ValueAct vying for Walt Disney Board seats.
Both groups have large stakes in the Walt Disney Company via stock, but it seems Bob Iger and Disney want to add people to the Board that they have some control over or feel would go along with the status quo.
Ironically, according to the Walt Disney World press release, Gorman is moving from being the Morgan Stanley CEO to the position of Executive Chairman on January 1, 2024. I’m not claiming that something fishy is going on, but it is interesting that Disney and Comcast are each doing valuations for Hulu to reach a final price. Comcast hired Morgan Stanley to complete their valuation for a final price. Both Comcast and Disney are vying for the best deal for themselves; now, the head of Morgan Stanley is on the Disney Board. By appearances, it seems like a conflict of interests there, even if nothing is happening.
A Disney connection to Jeremy Darroch also exists. Disney ran their Disney Channel on Sky TV for years until they pulled content off for Disney+. Darroch was involved with the Sky company until 2021.
Instead of allowing investor groups with huge stock stakes to sit on the Disney Board, they are seemingly cherry-picking their new members. Meanwhile Disney stocks rose sharply each time one of the “activist investors” indicated they wanted to go for a Walt Disney World Board seat. Especially when ValueAct revealed their intentions. However, they may want to work with the current Board and not go after a seat like Peltz is trying to do.
Walt Disney Co. stock has dropped over the last few days. The price rose slightly after yesterday’s Board seat announcement and Bob Iger’s comments at the New York Times Dealbook Summit regarding not selling TV, lowered expectations with China, and more. Then it has since started dropping again.
I’m sure these member choices were calculated by both Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Board. Get your popcorn ready, it’s going to get interesting.
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