Disney's biggest individual shareholder, Star Wars creator George Lucas is backing Disney's board and its CEO Bob Iger, Variety reported.
Lucas released a statement in support of Disney and Iger. He urged the company's investor not accept the bids offered by two activist investor groups so they can acquire seats on the board.
George Lucas backs Disney's Bob Iger
He said in a statement on Tuesday, “Creating magic is not for amateurs.”
“When I sold Lucasfilms just over a decade ago, I was delighted to become a Disney shareholder because of my longtime admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger's leadership,” Lucas added.
His statement continued, “When Bob recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved. No one knows Disney better. I remain a significant shareholder because I have full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob’s track record of driving long-term value. I have voted all of my shares for Disney's 12 directors and urge other shareholders to do the same.”
Disney bought Lucasfilms under Iger's leadership in 2012 for $4 billion. This deal netted Lucas 37.1 million shares in Disney. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Lucasfilms founder is worth $7.9 billion. Sources have said he is currently Disney's biggest individual shareholder.
On April 3, Disney will hold its annual shareholders meeting virtually where investors will vote on board candidates. Disney has 12 members in its lineup. Nelson Peltz has two nominees from his Trian Partners (himself and Jay Rasulo, former CFO of Disney). The other candidates are from Blackwells Capital.
The Battle for Disney: Peltz (and Perlmutter) vs. Iger
The battle between Peltz and Iger has been going on for months now, almost akin to the storyline from HBO's Succession. Peltz contends that Disney's stock, under Iger, has not been performing well. He also said that the media giant needs to take on a more urgent approach to grow and sustain the company's growth.
Lucas' comment regarding magic and amateurs may refer to Peltz's admission that he has no experience in running a media company, compared to Iger. The filmmaker's statement bolsters support for Disney for this fight. On March 18, Glass Lewis, an independent proxy voting advisory company, released a report which recommended that Disney shareholders vote for the company's 12 nominees for directors.
Disney has more supporters in Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney's grandchildren. They issued open letters in February, criticizing the activist investors' threat to reorganize the board and throwing their weight behind Iger and the company's current board.
For its part, the company has previously stated that they are opposed to Trian and Blackwells' candidates. Disney cited the nominees as not having “the appropriate range of talent, skill, perspective and/or expertise.” The company also asked its shareholders to vote for its own nominees.
In Disney's strongest rebuttal to Peltz, the company released a video calling out Trian for its “disruptive and destructive” fight. The video also stated that Peltz's “quest also seems more about vanity than a belief in Disney. Why else would he sell 500,000 Disney shares over the past six months in the middle of his proxy fight?”
Trian has $3.5 billion worth of Disney's stock, 79% of this is owned by former Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter. Disney has accused Perlmutter of holding a grudge against the company. In 2023, Iger removed Perlmutter from Disney after he stripped him of his duties at Marvel.
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