LOS ANGELES, April 3 (Reuters) - A multimillion dollar,

mud-slinging battle over Walt Disney's ( DIS ) future will

officially end on Wednesday when the company is expected to

announce that shareholders rejected two hedge fund bids to shake

up the entertainment giant's board.

On Tuesday, Disney secured enough shareholder votes to

defeat a challenge from billionaire investor Nelson Peltz and

Blackwells Capital, sources familiar with the matter told

Reuters. The sources cautioned that there was a possibility that

some shareholders may change their votes.

If Disney does prevail, it will be a victory for Chief

Executive Bob Iger as he steers the Mouse House through the

industry's shift to streaming.

The company's largest shareholder, Vanguard Group, and other

investors had voted in favor of Iger and the 11 other incumbent

directors, people familiar with their votes said.

Spokespeople for Disney did not immediately respond to a

request for comment. Trian and Blackwells had no comment.

Official results will be disclosed at Disney's ( DIS ) annual

shareholder meeting, which is scheduled to stream live starting

at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1700 GMT) on Wednesday.

Peltz, CEO of Trian Fund Management, and Blackwells have

been seeking five seats between them on Disney's ( DIS ) 12-person

board. The activists argued the $225 billion media company has

bungled its CEO succession planning, lost its creative spark and

failed to properly harness new technology.

The tussle has been bitter and closely watched, serving as a

referendum on Disney's ( DIS ) efforts to reinvigorate its film and

television franchises, make its streaming business profitable

and find partners to help build sports network ESPN's ( DIS ) digital

future.

Both sides have spent millions of dollars on campaigns

trying to persuade voters and have launched public and personal

attacks.

Peltz has been seeking a board seat for himself and for

former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo. Disney said

the pair lacked the necessary skills, offered "nothing new" in

their suggestions for improvement and noted that Rasulo had been

passed over to succeed Iger.

Peltz at one point responded that Disney was "stupid" in

opposing him, arguing that he was trying to help Iger.

In the final hours before voting closed, billionaire

activist investor Bill Ackman, himself a veteran of proxy

contests, said in a post on X that Peltz would be "greatly

additive" to the Disney board.

Trian was Disney's ( DIS ) fifth-biggest shareholder with a 1.76%

stake as of Dec. 31, according to LSEG data. The hedge fund's $3

billion bet on Disney was largely responsible for its

underperformance last year relative to its activist peers,

according to financial details provided to Reuters by a Trian

investor.

Disney's ( DIS ) shares peaked in March 2021 at $201.91 when the

company was gaining streaming subscribers. The stock price later

fell as the streaming division kept losing money. Disney's ( DIS ) board

fired then-CEO Bob Chapek, bringing Iger back to the helm.

This year, shares have recovered 35% to close at $122.82 on

Tuesday, lifted by positive earnings and initiatives such as a

$1.5 billion investment in "Fortnite" maker Epic Games and a

sports streaming app with Fox Corp ( FOXA ) and Warner Bros

Discovery ( WBD ). They remain down 39% from their record high.

Iger, 72, secured a string of public endorsements rarely

seen in proxy fights. They included "Star Wars" creator George

Lucas, members of the Disney family, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie

Dimon and Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs.

Disney also received the backing from proxy advisory firm

Glass Lewis. Another advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder

Services, had recommended Peltz, and pension fund giant

California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) backed

Peltz and Rasulo.