Walt Disney Co. shareholders will come together today in the Philadelphia Convention Center to decide on issues that could greatly affect the future direction of the company.
Last month, the Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. announced a bid to take over the Disney corporation, bringing to a head complaints about the way Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner and his associates have run the entertainment company.
Even if no one is replaced at the meeting -- and it is unlikely that anyone will be -- it is expected to be an exciting spectacle.
"The most important decision for the shareholders is to select the board members," Finance professor Bulent Gultekin said. "Then the board of the company supervises the management on the behalf of shareholders."
Two former board members, Stanley Gold and Roy Disney -- company founder Walt Disney's nephew -- have recently been leading a "Save Disney" campaign against Eisner and other company executives, trying to convince stockholders that the leaders have mismanaged the company.
With Comcast's takeover bid, the campaign has intensified. In a talk Monday night on Penn's campus, Gold described Eisner as "tyrannical" and "imperial" in his business dealings.
"We used to have the best assets in the business," Gold said, referring to Disney. "I don't think we do anymore. We need a change of assets strategy."
Undoubtedly, questions over mismanagement will continue to plague the heads of the Disney corporation.
"The company has agreed to give Roy and me 15 minutes [during the shareholders' meeting today] to speak. I think it will be an audio-video presentation that will knock your socks off," Gold said.
The shareholders are set to undertake a vote today regarding Eisner's performance as CEO. Gold did not want to predict the results but said that he does expect a substantial number of "withhold" and "no confidence" votes.
"The shareholders are the ultimate decision-makers because they are the owners of the company," Gultekin said.
"If [Eisner] doesn't have the vote of confidence, he has no choice but to leave the company," he added.
But no change of leadership is expected immediately. There has not, as of yet, been anyone within the organization suggested as a viable alternative to Eisner.
Comcast's $60 billion bid increased the pressure on Eisner -- and on the stockholders -- to make a decision. The Disney Board of Directors rejected the initial offer, but Comcast has continued to pursue the corporation.
If successful, a combined Comcast-Disney company would become the world's largest media corporation, with assets valued at over $120 billion. The proposed takeover would likely have dramatic ramifications for the Philadelphia region.
Gold emphasized that his Save Disney campaign is not a personal attack on certain board members, but is strictly focused on business.
"This is not a personal attack on [board members] Father Leo [O'Donovan], George Mitchell or even Michael Eisner, these are decent people," Gold said, "but they aren't very good business people."
"And I say about a lot of these people, 'I wish they would either be my neighbors or married to my daughter.' I just don't want them managing my money."
Staff reporter Cynthia Yeung contributed to this report.
