Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust has urged shareholders to resist New York hedge fund Saba Capital Management which wants to oust board members of the Scottish company and has raised its stake.
Saba wants to remove all six independent non-executive directors from the Baillie Gifford managed trust and appoint three US-based nominees. It has formally requested a shareholders meeting that will take place next month.
EWIT’s board says Saba “aims to gain control cheaply and prioritises its own commercial interests” to the detriment of other shareholders.
The Scottish trust says it has achieved a NAV total return of 16.2% over the last 12 months against a benchmark of 6%, and an average discount of 5.3% over the same period. It has strongly urged shareholders to vote against the resolutions.
Saba has increased its stake in EWIT from 25% to about 30%, prompting the trust to issue a warning to shareholders.
“Saba’s shareholding is now larger than when it previously attempted to seize control in February. This significantly increases the possibility of Saba succeeding this time,” it says.
Jonathan Simpson-Dent, chair of EWIT, said: “Since this board set out its Path for Growth strategy just over twelve months ago, the company has made strong progress.
“Performance has exceeded the benchmark, and the discount compares very favourably with peers. Shareholders are benefiting from access to a distinctive, diversified global portfolio of high-growth companies, both public and private, which we are confident can deliver long-term outperformance.”
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