Disney has been aggressively pushing back against the activists.
George Lucas supports Disney in proxy fight against activist investors
Lucas is synonymous with Star Wars and his name carries weight with everyday shareholders due to his significant stake in the company.
George Lucas, the legendary filmmaker behind Star Wars and Indiana Jones, has thrown his support firmly behind CEO Bob Iger and Disney in an ongoing proxy fight with activist investors. In a statement released on Tuesday, Lucas said that no one knows Disney better than Iger and he remains a significant shareholder because of his full faith in the power of Disney to drive long-term value.
Lucas is synonymous with Star Wars and his name carries weight with everyday shareholders due to his significant stake in the company. He has voted all of his shares for Disney's 12 directors and urges other shareholders to do the same.
Disney is facing a proxy fight against two activists: The corporate raider Nelson Peltz, and Blackwells Capital. Notably, Peltz has billions of dollars in shares pledged by Ike Perlmutter, who sold his company (Marvel) to Disney and became a major shareholder. Perlmutter remained with Disney until being laid off last year.
It is not clear how much Disney stock Lucas owns, but when the company acquired Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012, the deal included about $1.8 billion in stock. Marvel was also acquired for about $4 billion around the same time.
Disney has been aggressively pushing back against the activists and framing them as being more self-interested than pro-Disney.
George Lucas has sold his company (Lucasfilm) to Disney for $4 billion in cash and stock.
Disney is facing criticism from Peltz and Trian Partners as they continue to engage in the proxy fight that began at the end of November.
Bob Iger has been defending his vision for Disney's future, emphasizing a strategic reorganization and cost-cutting measures to steer the company back to its pre-pandemic glory.
Accuracy
Nelson Peltz of Trian Partners has raised an argument against voting for current board members, claiming that Disney's stock has underperformed and needs more urgent strategies.
Deception
(50%)
George Lucas' statement is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, he claims that no one knows Disney better than Bob Iger when in fact there are two activist investor groups who have raised concerns about the company's performance and leadership. Secondly, Lucas states that he has full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob's track record of driving long-term value, but fails to provide any evidence or data to support this claim. Lastly, Lucas urges shareholders to re-elect the directors without providing any information on why these particular individuals are qualified for their positions.
Lucas urges shareholders to re-elect the directors without providing any information on why these particular individuals are qualified for their positions.
George Lucas claims that no one knows Disney better than Bob Iger when in fact there are two activist investor groups who have raised concerns about the company's performance and leadership.
Lucas states that he has full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob's track record of driving long-term value, but fails to provide any evidence or data to support this claim.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by stating that no one knows Disney better than Iger. Additionally, the author uses inflammatory rhetoric when they describe Nelson Peltz's argument as 'urgent strategies'. The article also contains a dichotomous depiction of Peltz and his group being against voting for current board members while Lucas is in support.
no one knows Disney better than Iger
Disney's stock has underperformed the market
urgent strategies
Bias
(85%)
The article contains examples of monetary bias and religious bias. The author uses language that depicts one side as extreme or unreasonable.
> Creating magic is not for amateurs.
> When Bob recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved. No one knows Disney better.
> Nelson Peltz of the hedge fund Trian Partners has raised an argument against voting for the current board members,"Disney's stock has underperformed the market and that the company needs to adopt and execute more urgent strategies to drive sustained and profitable growth."
, George Lucas has thrown his support firmly behind CEO Bob Iger and Disney's board.
Lucas is synonymous with Star Wars and his name carries weight with everyday shareholders due to his significant stake in the company.
George Lucas publicly supports Bob Iger and The Walt Disney Company amidst an escalating proxy fight.
Accuracy
George Lucas sold his company (Lucasfilm) to Disney for $4 billion, which included about $1.8 billion in stock.
Nelson Peltz of Trian Partners has raised an argument against voting for current board members, claiming that Disney's stock has underperformed and needs more urgent strategies.
Deception
(50%)
George Lucas' statement is deceptive because he implies that Bob Iger and Disney are the only ones capable of creating magic. He also states that Peltz and Blackwells Capital have no interest in pro-Disney interests when it is clear they do.
When George Lucas says 'Creating magic is not for amateurs', he implies that Bob Iger and Disney are the only ones capable of creating magic. This statement is deceptive because there are many other individuals and companies who have created successful businesses, products, or services without being considered magical.
George Lucas states that Peltz has billions of dollars in shares pledged by Ike Perlmutter but fails to mention that Perlmutter was laid off last year. This omission is deceptive because it implies that Perlmutter still holds a significant stake in Disney, when he no longer does.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. Firstly, the author uses an appeal to authority by stating that George Lucas is a high-profile name to support Iger and Disney. However, this does not necessarily mean that his opinion should be taken as factual or reliable. Secondly, the author quotes Nelson Peltz's statement without providing any context or evidence of its validity. This could lead readers to believe that Peltz is a credible source when in reality he may have ulterior motives for making such statements. Lastly, the article contains an inflammatory rhetoric by stating that Disney is facing a proxy fight against two activists who are being more self-interested than pro-Disney.
George Lucas's statement: 'Creating magic is not for amateurs.'
Nelson Peltz's statement without context or evidence of its validity.
Bias
(85%)
George Lucas' statement supports Disney and its CEO Bob Iger. He praises the company's iconic brand and leadership, stating that he has full faith in their ability to drive long-term value. This is an example of monetary bias as it suggests that Disney will be successful financially if they continue with their current strategy.
George Lucas praised Disney's iconic brand and Bob Iger's leadership
Lucas stated that he has full faith in the power of Disney to drive long-term value.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
George Lucas has a financial stake in Disney through his ownership of the rights to the Star Wars franchise. He also has personal relationships with Bob Iger and Nelson Peltz, who are involved in a proxy fight at Disney. These factors could potentially compromise his ability to act objectively and impartially on this topic.
George Lucas owns the rights to the Star Wars franchise through his company, Lucasfilm Ltd.
George Lucas is backing Disney and CEO Bob Iger in the company's proxy fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz.
Lucas has been a Disney shareholder since selling his production company, Lucasfilm, to the media giant in 2012 for more than $4 billion in cash and stock.
Disney is facing criticism from Peltz and Trian Partners as they continue to engage in the proxy fight that began at the end of November.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority when George Lucas says that no one knows Disney better than CEO Bob Iger. This statement implies that Iger's opinions are automatically correct because he is a leader in the company, but this does not necessarily mean his opinions are accurate or reliable.
George Lucas said 'no one knows Disney better' as he backs Bob Iger in proxy fight with Peltz.
. The acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney was a landmark deal, bringing together two of the most influential forces in entertainment.
. Under Disney, the Star Wars franchise has expanded significantly, with new films, series and theme park attractions continuing to draw in audiences around the world.
George Lucas publicly supports Bob Iger and The Walt Disney Company amidst an escalating proxy fight.
Lucas highlights the power of Disney and urges shareholders to support Iger, emphasizing his role in driving long-term value.
. Nelson Peltz is vying for a seat on Disney's board of directors through his firm Trian Fund Management.
. Bob Iger has been defending his vision for Disney's future, emphasizing a strategic reorganization and cost-cutting measures to steer the company back to its pre-pandemic glory.
Bob Iger has not been shy in pointing the finger at a desire for quantity over quality for Disney's streaming service, which led to poor performance at the box office as well as critically.
. George Lucas is synonymous with Star Wars and his name carries weight with everyday shareholders due to his significant stake in the company.
Lucas has voted all of his shares for Disney's 12 directors and urges other shareholders to do the same.
Accuracy
Under Disney, the Star Wars franchise has expanded significantly, with new films, series and theme park attractions continuing to draw in audiences around the world.
. George Lucas publicly supports Bob Iger and The Walt Disney Company amidst an escalating proxy fight.
Bob Iger has been defending his vision for Disney's future, emphasizing a strategic reorganization and cost-cutting measures to steer the company back to its pre-pandemic glory.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that George Lucas publicly supports Bob Iger and Disney, which implies that his opinion is trustworthy without providing any evidence for it. Additionally, the author quotes a statement from George Lucas in which he praises Iger's leadership during challenging times and emphasizes his role in driving long-term value. This quote can be interpreted as an inflammatory rhetoric since it suggests that Iger has been successful despite criticism from activist investor Nelson Peltz, who is portrayed negatively in the article. The author also uses a dichotomous depiction by stating that Disney's recent performance and leadership decisions have led to a poor year at the box office as well as critically, which implies that these are mutually exclusive events when there may be other factors contributing to both outcomes.
The author quotes George Lucas praising Bob Iger's leadership during challenging times without providing any evidence for it. This can be interpreted as an appeal to authority fallacy.
Bias
(85%)
The article contains examples of religious bias and monetary bias. The author uses the phrase 'Creating magic is not for amateurs' which implies that only a select few have the ability to create something successful, which could be seen as elitist or dismissive of those who do not share their beliefs.
The acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney was a landmark deal
Under Disney, the Star Wars franchise has expanded significantly
