STOCK QUOTE: Walt Disney CompanyORLANDO, Fla. -- Late Monday afternoon, the state employee pension fund announced that it's withholding a vote for embattled Disney Chief Michael Eisner. That means, faith in Eisner as chairman and CEO is even faltering with Florida's governor.
Monday, Florida's state pension fund joined about half dozen other pension and mutual funds around the nation that are losing confidence in Eisner and the Disney board of directors. Keep in mind, the men who decided not to support Eisner are Governor Bush, Tom Gallagher and Charlie Crist.
Some analysts think the decent is now snowballing, sending a message that big shareholders want Michael Eisner out.
More than 850,000 Florida shareholders will speak with one voice, by not voting for Eisner at a shareholder's meeting Wednesday, voicing their discontent.
It's the same story for at least five other giant shareholder groups. Some have taken issue, not only with Eisner, but with others on the board of directors. The trend means the mega-media and theme park company is in treacherous waters.
Florida's state pension alone owns 7.3 million shares of Disney.
"They're indicating their displeasure with the people who are running the company," says Joe Bert.
Bert owns Central Florida's largest private financial planning company. He describes the disgruntled pension and mutual funds as gigantic groups of shareholders with enormous voting power in Disney.
The funds withholding votes are politely saying they want Eisner out and they expect big changes on the Disney board of directors, or else.
With the Comcast bid off the table for now, Disney can't afford for large funds to sell off their shares. That could drive Disney share prices down, making the Mouse much more vulnerable to a takeover.
Bert says these dozen dissenting funds could be the writing on the wall for Eisner. "Then you get other large shareholders and then the smaller shareholders say, 'Maybe we should go along with that.' I think Eisner's days are numbered."
Right now, there is no competition for Eisner. At the shareholder's meeting that begins on Wednesday, Eisner is shareholders' only choice for chairman. These funds are making it clear they are not happy with their only option and they want new options.
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