The Disney+ website on a laptop in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, July 18, 2022.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | beautiful pictures
Disney reached an agreement with Activist Investor Dan Loeb’s Third Point, including the addition of former Meta executive Carolyn Everson to its board of directors, the companies said on Friday.
The deal came a few weeks after Third Point made it a new share Disney represents about 0.4% of the company and calls on the media company to develop its sports property, ESPN. Third Point’s 6.35 million Disney shares were worth about $600 million as of Friday’s close.
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On Friday, Disney said a public record that, With Third Point’s backing, it will add Everson to its board ahead of its November board meeting.
“We are pleased with our fruitful and ongoing dialogue with Bob and the Disney management team,” Loeb said in a statement released Friday.
As part of the settlement, Third Point agreed to the usual deadlocks and other terms, including that it would not accept shares of Disney greater than 2% and would not solicit proxies or give make suggestions. Third Point, which will also not participate in the board nomination, agreed to the regulations through Disney’s 2024 annual shareholder meeting, according to the filing.
Disney shares were up slightly in after-hours trading.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek said: “We have a productive and collaborative relationship with Third Point.
Chapek welcomed Everson’s appointment to the board, pointing to her experience in digital advertising, which he said makes her “a great fit as we continue to position the company” for long-term development.”
Everson was in Meta, formerly Facebook, for over 10 years, where she served as the social media platform’s chief advertising officer. Although Everson was once considered one of the most prominent women – along with former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg – she left the company after Marne Levine was promoted to chief sales officer last summer.
Most recently, she has a short time as president of grocery delivery service Instacart, where she left after just three months. At the time, Instacart and Everson told CNBC that her decision to leave was mutual.
With Everson, who will officially take the seat on November 21, Disney will have 12 board members.
Loeb initially had his eye on Disney’s ESPN business, saying that splitting the division would give Disney more flexibility in pursuing sports betting and other business initiatives. However, soon after, he reverse course.
“We have a better understanding of @espn’s potential as an independent business and another industry of $DIS in reaching a global audience to generate revenue from advertising and subscribers,” Loeb said earlier this month in a tweet.
