Disney critics step up campaign to oust Eisner

LOS ANGELES – The Walt Disney Co. has made substantial progress quieting the dissent that reached a climax last March with an unprecedented vote of no confidence against CEO Michael Eisner.

The company is delivering on its promise of 50 per cent earnings growth this year while spiffing up its amusement parks and reaching out to disgruntled investors and Disney aficionados who formed the core of the dissident group seeking major management changes at the media giant. But the fight isn’t over.Eisner is almost certain to face a renewed challenge from former directors Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold, who will likely put together their own slate of nominees for the board by year’s end.Since the March shareholders meeting, the two dissidents have led a steady, albeit more low-profile campaign against Disney through their Web site, SaveDisney.com.Run from the Burbank offices of Shamrock Holdings, a firm operated by Gold that handles Roy Disney’s investments, the effort is becoming more aggressive as Disney reaches the end of its fiscal year and the deadline approaches to formally launch a proxy fight.Michael J. McConnell, an officer of the company and spokesman for Disney and Gold, said they understand the challenge of mounting an opposition slate and are committed to see it through.McConnell criticised the Disney board and said the company’s recent financial performance is “a recovery from years of under-performance” and not sustainable.Disney has also more than doubled its earnings in the first nine months of the year to 88 cents per share from 42 cents in the same period last year.Disney’s progress, combined with efforts by Eisner and other board members to court large investors, may have robbed the opposition of much of its momentum.The corporate infighting began late last year when Roy Disney and Gold resigned from the board, citing the poor performance of the company’s stock since 1996.-Nampa-APBut the fight isn’t over.Eisner is almost certain to face a renewed challenge from former directors Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold, who will likely put together their own slate of nominees for the board by year’s end.Since the March shareholders meeting, the two dissidents have led a steady, albeit more low-profile campaign against Disney through their Web site, SaveDisney.com.Run from the Burbank offices of Shamrock Holdings, a firm operated by Gold that handles Roy Disney’s investments, the effort is becoming more aggressive as Disney reaches the end of its fiscal year and the deadline approaches to formally launch a proxy fight.Michael J. McConnell, an officer of the company and spokesman for Disney and Gold, said they understand the challenge of mounting an opposition slate and are committed to see it through.McConnell criticised the Disney board and said the company’s recent financial performance is “a recovery from years of under-performance” and not sustainable.Disney has also more than doubled its earnings in the first nine months of the year to 88 cents per share from 42 cents in the same period last year.Disney’s progress, combined with efforts by Eisner and other board members to court large investors, may have robbed the opposition of much of its momentum.The corporate infighting began late last year when Roy Disney and Gold resigned from the board, citing the poor performance of the company’s stock since 1996.-Nampa-AP