George Lucas backs Bob Iger in Disney proxy fight
Hollywood director and Star Wars creator George Lucas is backing Walt Disney (DIS) and CEO Bob Iger in their proxy fight with Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners and Blackwells Capital.
In a statement, Lucas states, "Creating magic is not for amateurs... 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.”
In the video above, Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal discusses the latest developments ahead of Walt Disney's annual meeting on April 3.
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Video Transcript
SEANA SMITH: Well, the force is strong with Disney CEO Bob Iger's newest ally, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas. Lucas backing Iger and his proxy fight over board seats with Nelson Peltz. Here with the details, Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal. Allie.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: Yeah, I love that intro, Seana. The force seems to be with Disney CEO Bob Iger. We're almost two weeks out from that critical shareholder meeting, and it does seem like Disney has a lot of support. George Lucas, the latest high-profile name to come out in support of the company and its current board.
He released a statement saying in part, quote, "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. 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 in confidence in the power of Disney and Bob's track record of driving long-term value." He says he has voted all of his shares for Disney's 12 directors.
Now, when he did sell Lucasfilm to Disney in a deal that was valued at just over $4 billion, he acquired more than 37 million shares. According to CNBC sources, he is the largest individual shareholder at Disney and, obviously, such a high-profile name to boot, which, I think, is important here as well. And like I said, recently, we've seen JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon come out and supported Disney and Bob Iger.
We've seen proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis, very respectable name in the space, they also support Disney and the current board. The grandchildren of Roy and Walt Disney. So, a lot of wind at the backs here of the Disney boardroom heading into this very critical shareholder meeting. And we'll see what comes out of that vote.
BRAD SMITH: All right. Do or do not, there is no try. We'll see if Lucas is successful in his bid here to get his voice heard as this proxy battle goes on.
