SME Loan Fund says that demand from investors to participate in the secondary placing of the 25,270,763 shares in SMEF held by GLI Finance Limited has significantly exceeded the number of SMEF shares available and, accordingly, investor participations are being scaled back. The secondary placing will be completed today.
GLI Finance has agreed to acquire for cash the loans in SME Loan Fund’s portfolio which are not consistent with SMEF’s proposed future investment strategy for their aggregate face value (including accrued interest) as at 10 March 2017 of GBP5.27 million.
SQN Capital Management, LLC and its UK subsidiary SQN Asset Management Limited have been appointed as the Company’s investment managers with effect from 1 April 2017 and SQN has appointed SMEF’s current investment manager, Amberton Asset Management Limited as its sub-investment adviser in relation to SMEF’s existing portfolio of loans with effect from 1 April 2017.
There will be a circular sent to shareholders shortly to convene a general meeting at which resolutions will be proposed to amend the investment policy and its articles of association.
Secondary Placing
GLI Finance is selling the placing shares (48.0% of the issued share capital) at 90p per share. The secondary placing is principally with new institutional investors and wealth managers and they say this will significantly broaden the shareholder base and, as a result, the market liquidity in SMEF’s shares should improve. SQN will acquire 3.3 million shares, representing 6.3% of the issued share capital.
SMEF : SME Loan Fund stock all placed