Activist investor Nelson Peltz has gained crucial support in his proxy battle for a seat on Disney's (DIS) board. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has announced its endorsement of Peltz, advising shareholders to vote in favor of granting him a board seat ahead of their upcoming shareholder meeting on April 3rd.

Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal breaks down the details, providing insights into other investors vying for seats.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

Editor's note: This article was written by Angel Smith

Video Transcript

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JOSH LIPTON: Taking a look now at a trending ticker of the day, Disney's proxy fight with activist Nelson Peltz. Heating up, Peltz winning a key backing from proxy advisory firm, institutional shareholder services, otherwise known as ISS. So Julie, yes, ISS saying shareholders should vote for Nelson Peltz at that shareholder meeting coming up on April 3rd. So now we got a showdown because Glass Lewis said shareholders should support the company backed slate of nominees.

But ISIS saying no, Mr. Peltz has the experience given his history and other boards best position they say to bring a shareholder perspective.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, it's interesting the shares are not moving much today. And makes sense because at this point we're not going to know what the outcome is until April 3rd or shortly thereafter if the votes aren't all counted right away. So that tracks here. It's interesting because there were some other folks who are also supporting Peltz. It's companies who were previously targeted by him. Who said, oh, he's just-- he's a big old pussycat, he's great to work with.

They didn't say that exactly. But that--

JOSH LIPTON: That was the gist.

JULIE HYMAN: That he seemed scary from far away. But once he gets up close, he's still a delight to work with because effectively what they said.

JOSH LIPTON: Well, let's get to Yahoo Finance senior reporter Alexandra Canal for more on this. So Ali, what did you make of this headline?

ALEXANDRA CANAL: This is pretty surprising, considering what we heard from Glass Lewis earlier this week. And it certainly a big win for Nelson Peltz when you think about such an influential proxy advisory firm coming out in support of him. ISS saying that Peltz could be additive to the board, considering he's a shareholder-- a significant shareholder at the company.

In the report, ISS saying, quote "Peltz with his considerable experience on other boards and fiduciary duties owed to a large shareholder group appears best positioned to bring a shareholder perspective to the board. Now what's notable here? Is that ISIS said that shareholders should not vote for trian's other nominee, which is Jay Rasulo. He's the former CFO at Disney. And they said just Peltz.