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Activist investor Nelson Peltz’s high-profile proxy fight against Disney is turning heads on Wall Street, and one little-known financial services firm stands to become a big beneficiary. Broadridge Financial Solutions , which provides proxy services for big corporations during boardroom brawls, could generate as much as $50 million in event-driven revenue from the Peltz-Disney war, according to Evercore ISI analyst David Togut. The analyst said Broadridge has a “near monopoly in the street name proxy business.” During Trian’s 2017 proxy battle against Procter & Gamble, the consumer giant paid about $60 million to Broadridge for proxy service, Togut said. Evercore ISI said a company’s retail investor base is the best representation for Broadridge’s revenue. Since Disney has 81% of the retail shares P & G has, it estimated that Broadridge could make up to $50 million from the proxy war. Peltz is seeking more than two seats on Disney’s board, saying his firm “intends to take our case for change directly to shareholders.” Trian said it owns about $3 billion in Disney stock. Trian has oversight of shares owned by former executive Ike Perlmutter. A critic of Disney Chief Bob Iger, the former Marvel Entertainment chair was fired in March. Evercore ISI set an outperform rating on Broadridge and raised its 12-month price target to $230 from $226. The new target represents a near 20% upside for the stock. Shares of Broadridge have rallied more than 44% this year, trading around $193 apiece. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
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