“Friends, relatives and esteemed chairmen, you’re probably wondering what we’re all doing here today…”
So quacks the mid-century Disney cartoon character Ludwig Von Drake in a preamble to a new video from The Walt Disney Company urging shareholders to “Vote Disney” in the upcoming board of directors election. The character, who is a painted as a paternal uncle of Donald Duck, first appeared in the 1961 show The Wonderful World of Color voiced by Paul Frees. The video appears on the newly-launched website, VoteDisney.com.
The Vienna-born, multi-degree-holding duck intros a video instructing Disney investors to hold the line and vote for the Disney board, ignoring challenges from investment groups Trian Partners and Blackwells Capital. Trian founder & CEO Nelson Peltz is putting himself and former Disney executive Jay Rasulo forward to replace Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman through an large scale PR campaign anchored by their own website, RestoreTheMagic.com.
Blackwells, which in November called on Trian to call off its “costly and disruptive” bid for Board seats, has put forward its own trio of directors — Jessica Schell, Craig Hatkoff and Leah Solivan — who are described as “anti-Peltz” and “more accommodating to Disney management.”
The message of the Disney video remains strictly to stick with the Mouse’s own, however, urging shareholders to stick with the white proxy cards and ignoring the challengers’ blue and green cards. Votes are due by 11:59 p.m. on April 2, ahead of the meeting. The company is due to report its latest quarter results on Wednesday.
[Sources: Deadline, Blackwells Capital]
