Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) shareholders have rejected a tender proposal from the trust’s board, marking the first time it loses a vote against US activist investor Saba Capital.
The board’s proposal offered investors the opportunity to tender their shares, receiving about 85 per cent of the cash immediately, at close to net asset value, and the rest once the trust was able to sell its position in Space X.
Boaz Weinstein’s Saba said it would support a slightly different proposal, giving investors the option to exit immediately and receive 100 per cent cash, or exit at a later date, following a Space X liquidity event. Space X is widely expected to list this year, but it will ultimately depend on market conditions.
The vote was close, with some 53.8 per cent of the votes cast against the board’s proposal.
Saba attempted to elect its own nominees to the board twice, once at the start of 2025 and once earlier this year, and lost both votes. But its growing position in the trust, together with the fact that private investors often don’t take part in votes, made it harder for the board to keep pushing back.
Saba will try again to elect its board nominees at the trust’s AGM on 30 April. If it succeeds, the new board is then expected to implement Saba’s exit proposal for investors. The current board said it is “making plans to implement” Saba’s offer, but it is unclear whether it would try to do this before 30 April – and Saba said it will not support further proposals from the board before then.
