Disney names Carolyn Everson to board in deal with activist investor Third Point
7:13 pm Friday, September 30th, 2022
(Reuters) -Walt Disney Co on Friday announced a truce with activist investor Third Point, saying it would appoint tech and media veteran Carolyn Everson to the board with the support of the shareholder.
The hedge fund, led by billionaire investor Daniel Loeb, said in August it planned to push the entertainment and media conglomerate to make a string of changes, from spinning off cable sports channel ESPN to buying back shares and adding new board members.
However, Third Point reached an agreement with Disney on Friday to not present any proposal at any stockholder meeting until 2024, as long as Everson remains on the board, and to vote in accordance with the board’s recommendations.
The activist shareholder also agreed to not raise its stake in the company to over 2% and to vote in favor of the slate of directors nominated by Disney’s board.
Third Point did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Loeb had exited his position in the company, known for its theme parks and movies like “Aladdin” and “Frozen”, months earlier when fears about rising prices and faster interest rate hikes sparked a sharp market selloff, before re-investing nearly $1 billion in the company in August for a 0.4% stake.
Chief Executive Bob Chapek, who confirmed reports there were enquiries made to buy ESPN, told Reuters earlier this month he believes the sports television network is an asset to the company.
Everson, 50, who is on Coca-Cola’s board, has worked with Meta Platforms’ Facebook where she ran the global marketing and ad sales team for the social media giant.
Most recently, Everson was president of Instacart and her career has included leadership roles at Microsoft Corp and at Viacom, now part of Paramount Global.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
