You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em
That scraping sound that you’re hearing coming from the West Coast is Roy Disney & Stanley Gold quietly pushing away from the table. Having already spent over $20 million in their effort to oust Michael Eisner — only to have Disney’s CEO effectively trump their effort by announcing that he’ll step down in September of 2006 — Roy & Stanley have reportedly had enough.
Oh, sure. Disney & Gold are making noise like they’re still in the game. Witness Roy’s comments to Reuters yesterday about how “Save Disney” may still put an alternate slate of directors up for election if Disney’s Board of Directors fails to follow through on its announced plan to find a successor to Michael by June of 2005.
But if you want a real indication of what’s going on inside of “Save Disney” these days, take a look at the statement that Roy & Stanley issued yesterday where they praised George Mitchell & Disney’s Board of Directors.
“What’s up with that?,” you ask. That statement — which was full of conciliatory language like:
..In announcing that it will be retaining an independent executive search firm to help select a new CEO — and that it intends to complete the process on or before next June — the Board displayed precisely the kind of leadership and independence which we and the vast number of shareholders who share our concerns had been requesting.
That’s the corporate equivalent of a white flag, folks. The first indication that Roy & Stanley are getting ready to fold. As of this moment, Disney & Gold are no longer in the “Save Disney” game. They’re now just trying to find a way to save face.
I’m sure that this news will come as a huge disappointment to the thousands of people who’ve supported Roy & Stanley over the course of their 10-month-long campaign. But you have to face facts, folks. Roy Disney may be Walt’s nephew. But he’s also a businessman. And — at this point in the game — it just doesn’t make any sense to pour any more time & money into a campaign that’s pretty much doomed to fail.
“Why is ‘Save Disney’ doomed to fail from this point forward?,” you query. It’s that June 2005 deadline that George Mitchell & Disney’s Board of Director set for determining when the new CEO will be named. What a brilliant, ballsy move that was. By picking a date that is three months after the Walt Disney Company’s next annual meeting, Mitchell effectively shut down the entire “Save Disney” moment once and for all.
“How so?,” you ask. Well, think about it. Were Roy & Stanley to put an alternate slate up for election now, they’d just wind up being viewed by Wall Street as spoilers. Two guys who — because their personal animousity toward Michael Eisner — now won’t allow the accepted process (I.E. Disney’s Board of Director taking a measured & methodical approach to its search for the best qualified candidate for the position of CEO WITHOUT any undue outside pressure) to go forward. Who feel that they have to be disruptive.
This is why Disney & Gold currently find themselves facing a “no win” situation. Should they continue to press their “Save Disney” campaign, these two run the risk of becoming laughingstocks in the business community. Being viewed as these two old gaffers who — in a mis-guided attempt to recapture the heat & the acclaim that followed their successful 1984 campaign to oust then-Disney CEO Ron Miller — didn’t realize that the rules are now different in 2004.
If — on the other hand — they opt to fold their “Save Disney” campaign … Well, that’s equally embarrassing. To have invested all of this time & energy ( not to mention money) in an effort to remove Michael Eisner. Only to have Uncle Mike exit the Disney Company in September of 2006. When his contract was originally slated to run out anyway … It’s going to be really hard to put a positive spin on that situation. To sell that as a victory.
Speaking of positive … That’s the other thing that a lot of industry insiders are finding intriguing about Roy & Stanley’s statement yesterday. How positive the language is that these two used in this letter. Where once “Save Disney” had nothing good to say about George Mitchell and Disney’s do-nothing Board of Directors, now Disney and Gold have high praise for the former senator.
“Yeah, what’s going on with that?,” you ask. To be blunt, Roy & Stanley want to be dealt back into the game. They want to have some say in how the Walt Disney Company plots & plans ts future from here on in. Which is why (the way I hear it) a deal between the “Save Disney” team and Disney’s Board of Directors may already be in the works.
According to informed sources, Mitchell & Co. may be willing to allow Disney & Gold to have some limited input on the company’s upcoming CEO search IF these two agree to stopping being disruptive and shut down “Save Disney.” For Roy & Stanley’s part … Well — given that they no longer have a shot at being the Magic Kingdom’s kingmakers anymore — Disney & Gold have now supposedly set their sights on the Board of Directors. As in: Getting a few folks elected to Disney’s Board of Directors who are sympathetic to Disney & Gold’s point of view. Who might be willing to listen to Roy & Stanley’s counsel in the future as Disney’s Board sets about mapping out what the Post-Eisner era for this corporation will be like.
Which — you have to admit — will be a real come-down for the folks at “Save Disney.” Here they thought that they were working with Roy & Stanley to help bring about permanent change at the Walt Disney Company. To help put Disney back on the right path. But now … The power that these people once thought that they had is now back in the hands of Disney’s Board of Directors. Which means that the decision as to who’s going to end up being Disney’s CEO and/or Chairman is now going to be made behind closed doors. With virtually no input from the Disney faithful.
Which I know has to be disappointing to some of you people. But let’s face facts, folks. In spite of what Roy & Stanley may have been saying, this campaign was NEVER really about saving the Magic Kingdom. About turning the Walt Disney Company back into what it once was. This whole “Save Disney” thing? It was a smoke screen for a power grab that ultimately failed.
I know, I know. That may sound incredibly cynical. But this isn’t one of those moments where wishing upon a star is going to help, gang. Roy & Stanley ran a good campaign. For a while, anyway. But opting to basically shut down “Save Disney” after the annual meeting in March eventually wound up costing Disney & Gold big time.
Don’t get me wrong, folks. I mean, it’s not like all the news here is bad. After all, Roy & Stanley did accomplish some of their goals. They they got Eisner to give up the Chairmanship of the Walt Disney Company. And that has to count for something.
But this isn’t what Disney & Gold set out to do last summer, folks. Not by a long shot. If all had gone according to “Save Disney” ‘s master plan, Eisner would have been out of power for at least five months now, five members of Disney’s current Board of Directors would already be out on the street and Roy & Stanley would be in the middle of rebuilding the Walt Disney Company in their own images.
But that didn’t happen. And no amount of wishing & hoping by Disneyana fans and/or pension fund managers is going to make it happen now.
Which is why Disney & Gold are now looking for a graceful way out. To declare victory in the face of obvious defeat and then wander off the field. To lick their wounds and wonder: Would this have all turned out differently if Roy & Stanley hadn’t taken the last six months off. If “Save Disney” had just keep the pressure up on Eisner after March’s annual meeting.
Me personally, I think that — if Disney & Gold hadn’t lost their focus, if Roy & Stanley hadn’t let all of that positive press that they got following their successful “Save Disney” event in Philadelphia go to their heads — we might be dealing with a very different outcome right now.
But for now … Disney & Gold have to deal with the cards that they’ve been dealt. Which is a losing hand. Which is why these guys may continue to bluff for a while. But everyone knows — from Eisner & Mitchell on down — that this game is over.
Sad as it is to say, folks … But “Save Disney” lost. So — if you want some souvenirs of this somewhat bizarre episode in Disney Company history — now might be a good time to drop by “Save Disney” ‘s on-line store and pick up a t-shirt. A bumper sticker or two.
Your thoughts?