Charter European Proposes a New Rollover Option

CEF TIMES December 14-20: Having dropped previous rollover options, Charter European Trust gets an irrevocable undertaking to vote in favour of the new scheme from Midas

Szymon Idzikowski 21 December, 2011 | 6:19PM
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Aisi Realty Public (AISI): Narrowpeak Consultants Limited has converted bonds with an aggregate capital value of $8 million, representing a 47% stake in the fund, into ordinary shares. This has brought the discount in a fraction to under 40% to NAV.

Acorn Income Fund (AIF): The fund has raised an additional £12 million through an issue of new ZDP shares. It currently manages over £21 million. The new shares should start trading on the LSE from December 21.

Africa Opportunity (AOF): Lazard Asset Management has bought its first stake of almost 10% in the fund.

Better Capital (BCAP): The company intends to convert into a protected cell company and split its current portfolio into two; the first cell will hold all the current assets; the second will hold future assets that the company is planing to raise. Both cells will trade separately on the LSE.

Blackstar Group (BLCK): The company has launched a share buy-back programme on December 20 with an aim of reducing its discount. The fund currently trades at 13.6% discount to its NAV, compared with a 12-month average of over 21%.

Carador Income Fund EUR (CIF): F&C Asset Management has bought over 3.5 million shares representing a 25.6% stake in the bond fund. Carador currently trades at a 3.3% premium to its NAV, compared with its 12-month average premium of 5.6%.

Charter European Trust (CPE): The board has proposed the use of BlackRock Greater Europe (BRGE) instead of Jupiter European OEIC, as a rollover option under its reconstruction proposals. The largest shareholder, Midas, who controls 26% of the company’s issued share capital, has given an irrevocable undertaking to vote in favour of the scheme. The scheme will be subject, amongst other things, to the approval of Charter European and BlackRock Greater Europe Trusts’ shareholders. While Charter European Trust shareholders will not be offered an immediate cash exit option, the board of BRGE has confirmed that it will tender up to 20% shares in issue in May. BRGE is a more similar mandate to Charter, investing primarily in large-caps rather than small- and mid-sized companies. However, BRGE sits in the growth segment of the Morningstar Style box, whereas Charter European is in the value segment.

Midas Income & Growth Trust (MIGT): Subject to shareholders’ approval, the company proposes to rebase dividend payments to a lower level whilst staying attractive compared with its closed-end peers. It is suggesting changes to the asset allocation ranges as well as update to the investment objective to reflect the fund’s intention to seek absolute return with low volatility. This would see a change in the benchmark too. Finally the board proposes amendments to the fee arrangement with the investment manager and the introduction of an annual continuation vote. All changes will be put to vote at the general meeting held on January 18. The change in fee structure would mean a lower management fee and a termination of the performance fee.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Szymon Idzikowski

Szymon Idzikowski  is a closed-end fund analyst with Morningstar.

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