The board of the SVM UK Active Fund says it is likely that Cyrun will achieve its acceptance condition of 50% of the company’s issued shares, noting that at least one of the company’s larger shareholders had sold its share to Cyrun. Cyrun already owned 42% of the company’s shares.
Accordingly, the board says it has no alternative but to recommend that shareholders accept the Cyrun offer, priced at 94.25% of formula asset value, subject to a minimum price per share of 191.2p.
Edinburgh-based SVM Asset Management says it will offer special terms for UK Active shareholders who wish to reinvest in Colin Mclean and Margaret Lawson’s SVM UK Growth Fund, with no initial charge for the new investment.
The move will “protect shareholders from becoming minority owners in what could become a highly illiquid company, managed by an unknown Barbadian investment manager”, SVM says. Cyrun is proposing to appoint a new investment manager to the trust as well as changing its investment objective.
“We are urging UK Active shareholders to reinvest in SVM UK Growth Fund to ensure that they have continuity of a manager with a successful track record," said Mark Noble, marketing director at SVM Asset Management.
"We want to protect investors from becoming trapped in a potentially illiquid vehicle managed by an offshore manager that may not be regulated in the UK."
