Nelson Peltz's battle with Disney: hedge funds and C-suites weekly

By Davit Kirakosyan

Investing.com -- Among the biggest news out of hedge funds and company top brass, Disney is girding for a proxy battle against Nelson Peltz. Here is your full weekly roundup, all first covered on InvestingPro. Sign up for real-time, comprehensive coverage of market-moving company news.

Disney vs. Peltz

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) on Wednesday afternoon said it opposed efforts by activist investor Nelson Peltz, of Trian Fund Management, to join the company’s board - setting the stage for a proxy battle - and simultaneously announced it had elected seven-year board veteran Mark Parker as Disney's chairman. Parker is also executive chair at Nike (NYSE:NKE).

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trian's top executives and Disney's management, including newly reinstated CEO Bob Iger, had met on Tuesday to try reaching a compromise. Disney reportedly offered Peltz a board observer position, which he turned down, and Peltz was also asked to sign a standstill agreement. The meetings were ultimately unsuccessful.

Disney shares climbed 3.6% in the next session and 5.3% for the week.

McMahon takes executive chair at WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) shares popped 7% premarket Wednesday, and opened 2.5% higher at the open, on news that returning CEO Vince McMahon would also assume the executive chair role at the company. Shares settled back down for the session but ended with a 5.9% gain for the week.

Rite Aid CEO is out

Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) said its CEO, Heyward Donigan, was out, to be replaced on an interim basis by board member Elizabeth Burr as the company searches for a new permanent chief executive.

Rite-Aid shares have lost some 70% over the past year, and in a downgrade note last April, Deutsche Bank said, "Unfortunately, we believe Covid has hastened the decline of the retail pharmacy segment and we see the potential for a dramatic negative inflection point for RAD shares as this preliminary F2023 outlook seems to be unattainable." Shares slipped 2.5% for the week.

And some notable C-suite retirements

Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) announced Gregg Coccari will retire from his position as CEO and chairman of the board, effective February 28, 2023. He will be succeeded by Greg Brown, President of Udemy Business. AMD shares lost 2.3% for the week.

AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) announced that CFO Devinder Kumar will be retiring from the company and that Jean Hu, the CFO of Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) since 2016, will replace him on January 23. Kumar will remain at AMD through April 2023 to ensure a smooth transition. Shares rose 7.1% for the week.

Elliott's big PPL stake: report

Returning to hedge fund news, Elliott Investment Management is said to have built a significant position in PPL Corp. (NYSE:PPL), Bloomberg said Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The stake would mean Elliot would be one of utility owner PPL's top 10 investors, Bloomberg said.

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