Disney Shareholders Reject Executive Compensation Plan

Walt Disney Co. shareholders rejected the compensation plan for Chief Executive Robert Iger and other executives at its annual meeting in Houston on Thursday. The shareholders voted 52 percent against the compensation plan, with 44 percent voting favor of it in a non-binding advisory resolution. Four percent abstained. Iger’s contract with the Burbank entertainment and media giant was extended in December when Disney announced its plans to acquire the film and TV divisions of 21st Century Fox in a $52 billion deal. Iger’s salary and bonuses will total $48.5 million when the deal is completed, according to a regulatory filing. Last year, Iger took home nearly $36.3 million, or $7.6 million less than he earned the previous year. Aylwin Lewis, chair of the board’s Compensation Committee, said it would take the result of the non-binding vote under advisement for future chief executive compensation. “We believe that the terms of Bob’s extension are in the best interests of our company and our shareholders, and essential to Disney’s ability to effectively maximize long-term value from this extraordinary acquisition,” Lewis said in a statement. Under Iger’s 12-year tenure, Disney’s market capitalization increased from $46 billion to $156 billion. Shareholders at the annual meeting also elected 10 members to the company board, including new members Safra Catz, chief executive of Oracle Corp. and Francis deSouza, chief executive of biotech firm Illumina Inc. The company announced the initiative Wednesday. Shares of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) closed Thursday up 44 cents, or less than a percent, to $104.03 on the New York Stock Exchange.