Disney 'has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz's hostile takeover attempt after billionaire claimed entertainment giant has lost its way'

Disney has reportedly secured enough shareholder votes to defeat a challenge against its board mounted by activist investor Nelson Peltz.

Sources told Reuters enough votes had been cast Tuesday night to put Disney's board directors safely ahead of their challengers. 

The results will be announced at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.

Peltz had nominated himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to the board of the entertainment giant's directors, slamming CEO Bob Iger as 'underperforming.'

His firm Trian Fund Management, which owns about $2.5 billion worth of Disney shares, submitted the filing in January sparking Peltz's second proxy war in the company in just two years.

The firm is in turn being supported by influential advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, which is recommending that its clients vote in Peltz's favor.

Disney lashed out with a political style video trashing the activist shareholder's motivations and qualifications. 

The video said Peltz has a long history of 'attacking companies to the ultimate detriment' of shareholders and said it would be 'disruptive' and 'value-destructive' to include him and crony Jay Rasulo.

'Disney could suffer the same fate as other great companies that Peltz has previously infiltrated, such as G.E. and DuPont. Nelson Peltz has a long history of attacking companies to the ultimate detriment of shareholder value,' the narrator claims.

It said Peltz's quest for a board seat 'seems more about vanity than a belief in Disney.'

In the video and regulatory filing, Disney underscored Peltz's connection to former Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter, whom it describes as a 'disgruntled former employee' with a personal grudge against Iger.

Peltz, who is the father-in-law of Brooklyn Beckham, argued in his own presentation that Disney was slow to adapt to industry changes, including in streaming, made errors in its acquisition strategy and bungled succession planning.  

The billionaire is a Trump supporter and long-time critic of Disney's move towards 'woke.'

He recently slammed Disney for its all-women and all-black casts in an interview with the Financial Times.

'Why do I have to have a Marvel that's all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can't I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-black cast?' Peltz said.

He launched his first proxy war last January called on Disney to 'restore the magic' amid criticism the media conglomerate had become too political.

He withdrew from the initial fight after Iger unveiled a cost-cutting plan involving 7,000 layoffs and restructuring to save around $5.5 billion.

However, Disney shares plummeting by 12.5 percent over the last year has prompted the activist investor to renew his bid for power.

Trian Investment Fund holds about 33 million shares, making it one of the largest investors out of Disney's 1.8 billion shares.

Meanwhile Iger is said to be 'overwhelmed and exhausted' after extending his contract for three more years while battling dropping share prices and challenges to his leadership.

In September, Iger revealed the company will 'quiet the noise' around cultural issues because it has shown to be bad for business.

The company has been stuck in a legal battle with the Florida government and Ron DeSantis after former CEO Bob Chapek criticized the so called 'Don't Say Gay' bill.

DeSantis targeted Disney's special tax district, replaced the board of it with his allies and led the charge to change the name from the Reedy District to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Before the DeSantis-picked board took control, Disney created development contract for future investments. Those were thrown-out by the new board, which led to a federal lawsuit.

Disney has since dropped a massive chunk of its federal lawsuit against the Florida Governor.

Iger has extended his contract until 2026 and hinted that he will re-retire at that point, once a proper successor has been found and named.