George Lucas has pledged his support to Disney’s Bob Iger in his ongoing proxy battle against two other investors vying for control on Disney’s board of directors.
In a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter), Lucas praised Iger for his leadership and vision at Disney and backed the current 12 members of Disney’s board of directors.
“Creating magic is not for amateurs. When I sold Lucasfilm just over a decade ago, I was delighted to become a Disney shareholder because of my long-time admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger’s leadership,” Lucas said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”
While it’s unclear exactly how much stock in Disney Lucas owns, when he sold Lucasfilm and the Star Wars rights to Disney for $4 billion in 2012, it reportedly included about $1.8 billion in stock.
What is Disney’s proxy battle about?
Disney’s ongoing proxy fight centers around Nelson Peltz — the chairman of the board of director’s of Wendy’s — and his Trian Partners management firm looking to put Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo on the board of directors at Disney.
Another activist, Jason Aintabi’s Blackwells Capital, is also looking to put three directors of its own on the board.
According to THR, Peltz’s bid is backed by former Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter (who owns about $3 billion in Disney stock). The Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) — a major influence in Disney’s last proxy battle 20 years ago — is said to be making its recommendation for votes sometime next week ahead of the annual board meeting for the company on April 3, 2024.
While Disney is no stranger to proxy battles in the past, this time the current board has unilateral support for the Disney family. Earlier this month, the children of Roy E. Disney (Walt Disney’s nephew) released a statement calling Peltz and Aintabi “wolves in sheep’s clothing, just waiting to tear Disney apart if they can trick shareholders into opening the door for them.”
