On Monday, Blackwells Capital alleged that Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) had not disclosed to shareholders that ValueAct Capital Management invested over $350 million from the U.S. entertainment giant's pension fund assets, creating a potential conflict of interest.
In a public letter to Disney shareholders, Blackwells Chief Investment Officer Jason Aintabi stated, "ValueAct's management of Disney's pension funds is not disclosed in any of the referenced communications. Meanwhile, Disney's entire shareholder base has been led to believe that ValueAct provided independent and unqualified support of the Board."
Blackwells is urging shareholders to disregard ValueAct's endorsement of Walt Disney's board in the upcoming director elections. Disney is currently relying on ValueAct's support as it faces opposition from two other activist investors, Blackwells and Trian Fund Management, both vying for seats on the Disney board.
As of now, neither Disney nor ValueAct has responded to requests for comments. ValueAct, which acquired a stake in Disney last year and entered into an information sharing agreement in January, publicly supported the Disney board last week at the Council of Institutional Investors conference.
Similar to many hedge funds, ValueAct and Trian earn fees by investing capital on behalf of large corporations. Disney mentioned on Monday that it had terminated Trian in 2021 due to poor performance but did not disclose in its proxy materials which other firms previously or currently manage money for its pension fund.
Blackwells referred to Disney's form 5500, filed with the Department of Labor, as the source of information regarding the management firms employed by Disney.
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