Read the open letters Disney heirs wrote to shareholders, defending Bob Iger and slamming activist investors as 'villains'

• In a pair of open letters to shareholders, Disney's heirs put their weight behind CEO Bob Iger.
• The investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management is seeking seats on Disney's board.

In a pair of letters to shareholders on Thursday, the grandchildren of Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney endorsed CEO Bob Iger and spoke out against "activist investors" such as Nelson Peltz.

"Disney stories are filled with heroes and villains. We know who the villains are in this story, and we know they cannot be entrusted with protecting this company's rich legacy or guiding its bright future," one letter said. The two letters were collectively signed by eight Disney heirs, including Abigail Disney.

The heirs said Iger and his management had been "faithful" to Disney's "magic," and the CEO had "grown this company in a modern world."

They also said their grandfathers would be very concerned about investors such as Peltz, who they said were attempting to take over the company only to break it apart.

Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which owns about $3 billion of Disney stock, has criticized Disney's leadership and is seeking seats on its board. In early February, Iger and Peltz threw jabs at each other following Disney's better-than-expected earnings report.

Trian Fund Management didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular working hours.

Read the full letters here, which were first published in full by Variety:

From Roy O. Disney's grandchildren: