|
Impax Environmental Markets PLC on Friday set out a two-stage tender offer plan as it seeks to ‘protect’ shareholders amid pressure from activist investor Saba Capital Management LP. The London-based environmental markets investment trust said it will propose a tender offer allowing all eligible shareholders to redeem up to 100% of their shares at close to net asset value, but only if Saba tenders all or ‘materially all’ of its own holding and shareholders approve the plan by special resolution. The offer will also allow shareholders who wish to remain invested in the company the ability to do so. Saba holds just less than 21% of shares in the company. If Saba blocks the proposal or declines to tender, the board will instead put forward a second ’exit tender offer’, also for up to 100% of shares, requiring only an ordinary resolution and not conditional on Saba’s participation. Chair Glen Suarez accuses Saba of pursuing short-term objectives that risk destabilising the company and the wider UK investment trust sector. He said the continuation tender offer gives investors a choice between liquidity and remaining invested in environmental markets under the current strategy, while the contingency offer ensures shareholders are not ‘trapped in a Saba-controlled vehicle’ should the activist seek greater influence. The board said it has exhausted alternatives and consulted widely with investors following Saba’s increasing stake and ongoing activism. The directors intend to vote in favour of the continuation tender offer and will not tender their shares unless it fails and the exit tender offer moves ahead. Chair Suarez said: ‘The board has done everything within the constraints of the current UK regulations to protect all shareholders and believes this course of action is in the best interests of both the company and its shareholders.’ The board said it is offering Saba ‘an exit’ for its £158 million investment at close to NAV ‘structured in a way that Saba itself has previously set out as the right thing to do for shareholders’. Shares in Impax Environmental Markets were up 4.4% at 424.76 pence on Friday morning in London. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
