Posted on 02/05/2004 9:59:20 PM PST by churchillbuff
An Invitation to Join Us In Philadelphia on March 2 From Roy E. Disney And Stanley P. Gold
As a valued shareholder of The Walt Disney Company, we would like to invite you to join Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold at a SaveDisney.com Briefing and Reception in Philadelphia on Tuesday March 2, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the day before the Disney Annual Meeting is to be held in that same city.
Our meeting will be held at the Loews Hotel at 1200 Market Street in downtown Philadelphia. The Disney Annual Meeting will be held a few blocks away on Wednesday March 3 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street. Registration for the Disney Annual Meeting begins at 8 am and seating is available at 9 am. We urge you to attend both the SaveDisney.com meeting on Tuesday and the Walt Disney Annual meeting on Wednesday.
At our meeting, which will be an open forum, we intend to tell those who attend why we believe they should join us in Voting No on the election of Michael Eisner, George Mitchell, John Bryson and Judith Estrin as Disney Directors. We will also discuss why we resigned from the Disney Board and why we are seeking to replace Michael Eisner as the company’s CEO.
We think it is important that the facts be put in perspective. For example:
In 1994, Disney’s operating income was $3.1 billion. Despite investing more than $25 billion in Company operations since, Disney’s operating income in fiscal year 2003 was only $3.2 billion. Assuming the Company achieves its forecasts for Fiscal 2004, earnings will only approximate those achieved 6 years ago. In 1995, the market showed confidence in the Disney name and rewarded the company with an average price-to-book ratio of nearly 6x. In 2003, Disney’s average price-to-book ratio was under 2.0x. While Disney stock has had a good recovery recently, $10,000 invested on January 1, 1996 would have grown to only $11,497 by December 31, 2003. This same amount, $10,000, invested in a Dow Jones index fund on January 1, 1996, would have grown to $20,191 by December 31, 2003. There is much more we intend to share with you including our thoughts concerning the Company’s serious governance deficiencies and the actions we believe need to be taken to correct these deficiencies.
It is our belief that the more Disney shareholders know the more likely they are to support our position.
But as much as we have to share with you, we do not intend to have this meeting be a monologue. We are anxious to meet you and hear your views. We look forward to your questions and comments.
To assist you in attending the meeting, we have secured special discount travel arrangements specifically for Disney Shareholders from cities across the nation. (Additional information follows this letter.)
We have every expectation that you will see a lot of glitz and razzle-dazzle at Disney’s annual meeting. Unfortunately, in our view that has been the modus operandi of the Company in recent years: a lot of fluff and not enough substance. We believe the company’s shareholders deserve the facts without the spin. You will get the facts at our meeting on the 2nd.
We look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia.
Sincerely,
Roy E. Disney Stanley P. Gold
Anyhow, in a nutshell, that's what's wrong with Disney today. They don't understand their customers, and what is important to them.
"Disney is not in the attractions or the movie business, they're in the trust business. Trust, not the dollar or the euro, is the currency of all commerce." Unfortunately, he adds, "there's been erosion of that trust."
I ought to buy a share of Disney stock just to join the protest. Roy sounds like a chip off the old block and is deserving of our support.
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