By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON (Reuters) – UK investment trust Trian Investors 1, whose investment strategy is overseen by activist investor Nelson Peltz, will wind up the company, it said on Friday, after a campaign for change at the firm by a group of activist investors.
Shareholders led by Global Value Fund, Invesco, Janus Henderson and Pelham voted to remove TI1’s chair last month.
The activists had expressed concerns over changes to TI1’s strategy on the number and type of its investments, proposals to become a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and about its share price performance.
The trust’s investment management strategy is carried out by Peltz’s Trian Fund Management, itself an activist investor, taking stakes in companies and seeking changes in order to boost their share price.
TI1, which has around 440 million pounds ($508.42 million) in assets under management, invested in Unilever and Ferguson.
It will compulsorily redeem at least 95% of each shareholder’s stake in the trust by June 30 next year, it said in a statement, leaving investors with the underlying shares.
Once the share redemption has been completed, the board will begin a wind-up process, with any residual net assets to be returned to shareholders in cash, it added.
“The share redemption scheme recognises the significant potential future upside from the company’s core holdings, while meeting the desire of certain investors for greater liquidity
and of the company’s board to see its discount to fair value unwind,” new chair Mark Thompson said in a statement.
Shareholders, including Trian, representing 86.3% of its shares supported the proposals, TI1 said.
The ad hoc committee of shareholders said it was consulted on the proposals and welcomed them. The committee has disbanded, it said in a statement.
TI1’s shares jumped 17% to a record high.
The UK investment trust managed by activist investor Third Point has also faced criticism from activist investors.
($1 = 0.8654 pounds)
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by David Goodman and Mike Harrison)
