Nelson Peltz had campaigned for two seats on Disney’s board of directors, as he sought to shake up the company’s growth plan.
The activist investor Nelson Peltz and Ike Perlmutter, the former chairman of Marvel Entertainment, have failed to infiltrate Disney’s board for the second time in two years, losing a tensely fought contest for support of the company’s shareholders as part of a campaign to alter its direction.
The Walt Disney Company said on Wednesday that shareholders had voted to elect its entire slate of board nominees by a “substantial” margin — thus rejecting a demand by Mr. Peltz’s hedge fund, Trian Partners, for two seats and endorsing a growth plan that the company’s chief executive, Robert A. Iger, has laid out.
Trian controls about $3.5 billion in Disney stock, a vast majority of which is owned by Mr. Perlmutter. He and Mr. Peltz, both 81, had also tried to shake up the Disney board last year, abandoning the effort after Mr. Iger unveiled a sweeping turnaround plan.
“With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we’re eager to focus 100 percent of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers,” Mr. Iger said.
Mr. Peltz received 31 percent of the vote from shareholders who thought he should join the company’s board, according to a preliminary count. In a statement, Trian said that it was “disappointed” with the outcome but that it was “proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this company on value creation and good governance.”
Disney shares dropped 3 percent on Wednesday.
The latest Disney-Trian contest devolved into one of the largest, priciest and nastiest in history. Trian spent about $25 million on its offensive, while Disney priced its defense at up to $40 million, according to securities filings. Both sides inundated investors with political-style campaign materials, including mailings, emails, social media ads, videos and phone calls.
