Trian Fund Management, the investment fund of American billionaire Nelson Peltz, on Thursday challenged Disney's decision to reject the appointment of two of its representatives to the media group's board of directors.

The activist fund was seeking the election of Nelson Peltz and Jay to Disney's board of directors, but the Burbank, California-based group closed the door on this idea on Tuesday by unveiling a list of 12 directors chosen by the board.

In a statement released on Thursday, Peltz considers it 'regrettable' that a company as iconic as Disney, with so many challenges to meet and opportunities to seize, has refused to engage seriously with one of its major shareholders.

It says it now wants to enlist the support of the company's other shareholders in order to renew the board.

'Instead of having a board composed of directors (...) who can bring new perspectives to bear on today's challenges, Disney is resisting change and asking shareholders to approve a board composed primarily of historical directors (and their hand-picked successors)', stresses the activist investor.

The fund's top priority is to appoint a new CEO to boost profitability, which it considers to be well below that of its competitors, such as Netflix, and of the sector as a whole.

Disney shares rose 1.2% on Thursday on Wall Street, making it one of the Dow Jones index's biggest gainers.

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