Shareholders in Edinburgh Worldwide must vote now if they want to avoid being trapped by Saba
Voting deadlines are as early as 30 March.
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has urged shareholders in Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust to vote now to avoid a situation where they may become trapped in a vehicle controlled by Saba Capital.
In order to have the best chance of avoiding this outcome, shareholders need to do two things:
- Vote for the tender offer
- Tender their shares
Shareholders should be aware that tendering their shares may give rise to a capital gains tax liability.
It is essential that shareholders who want to avoid becoming stuck in a Saba-controlled vehicle do two things. First, they need to vote for the tender offer, and second, they need to tender all their shares. This may mean going into two different areas of your platform’s website – one to vote and one to tender. Both actions are essential.
Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
The board of Edinburgh Worldwide has recommended the 100% tender offer, which is structured in a way that aims to preserve the upside from a potential IPO of the trust’s largest holding, SpaceX. The offer requires at least 50% of voting shareholders to support it.
Edinburgh Worldwide’s general meeting will be held on 10 April but voting deadlines at platforms are likely to be much earlier than this, potentially as early as 30 March due to Easter bank holidays. The manager of Edinburgh Worldwide, Baillie Gifford, has produced guides on how to vote for the tender offer and how to tender shares on major platforms.
Shareholders in another investment trust, Impax Environmental Markets, face a similar situation. The board of the trust has recommended a 100% exit tender offer to avoid Saba taking control of the trust. All shareholders are being urged to vote in favour of the tender offer, regardless of whether they want to tender their shares, to enable all of those who wish to exit the company to do so. Shareholders who want to take advantage of the tender need to take two actions: they need to vote for the tender offer and tender their shares. Impax Environmental Markets’ general meeting is to be held on 16 April and platform voting deadlines may be as early as 10 April.
Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “The boards of Edinburgh Worldwide and Impax Environmental Markets have come to the same conclusion: it is better to allow shareholders the opportunity to exit their investment on fair terms than risk being trapped in a vehicle controlled by Saba.
“We know from previous votes that investors do not want to be stuck in a Saba-controlled trust. They must act now to stop this happening.
“It is essential that shareholders who want to avoid becoming stuck in a Saba-controlled vehicle do two things. First, they need to vote for the tender offer, and second, they need to tender all their shares. This may mean going into two different areas of your platform’s website – one to vote and one to tender. Both actions are essential.”
Both Edinburgh Worldwide and Impax Environmental Markets are offering help to those who have questions about voting their shares, or experience difficulties.
For Edinburgh Worldwide, shareholders can email [email protected] for more information or contact the shareholder helpline on +44 (0) 7748491929 between 8:30am and 5:30pm (UK time) Monday to Friday. The chair of Edinburgh Worldwide, Jonathan Simpson-Dent, will be hosting a live Q&A session for shareholders on Friday 27 March.
For Impax Environmental Markets, shareholders can contact D.F. King at [email protected], or the registrar, MUFG Corporate Markets, on +44 (0)371 664 0321, between 8:30am and 5:30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday.
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Notes to editors
- The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) represents a broad range of investment trusts and VCTs, collectively known as investment companies. The AIC’s vision is for closed-ended investment companies to be understood and considered by every investor. The AIC has 275 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £270 billion.
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