Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) has proposed holding two tender offers, or exit opportunities, if its board survives another crunch shareholder vote brought by Saba Capital on Thursday. The board of the Baillie Gifford managed global smaller companies investment trust needs around 75% of shareholders to vote at the annual general meeting (AGM) on 30 April to be confident of defeating a third attempt by Saba, an activist hedge fund with a 30% stake. If shareholders vote for the board, the company will propose a tender offer to let investors sell 50% of EWI’s shares at net asset value minus costs. It would also hold a 100% tender offer after the planned flotation of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and AI group that accounts for 20.4% of gross assets. “If shareholders wish to avoid being pushed under Saba-control, they are strongly encouraged to vote for the board and vote against the Saba nominated directors at the upcoming AGM. A clear vote against Saba will reaffirm support for the company’s strategy, while still providing those seeking liquidity with a full exit opportunity after the AGM,” said chair Jonathan Simpson-Dent. Winterflood analyst Alex Trett said: “The reintroduction of the tender offer may act as a mechanism to encourage Saba to withdraw in the event of a third unsuccessful attempt to gain control. It also provides an exit route for shareholders fatigued by the ongoing contest”. He noted that, if taken up, the 50% tender would “materially increase” the size of the SpaceX position in a reduced fund before its initial public offer (IPO) takes place.

Molten Ventures (GROW), the £924m growth capital fund investing in technology, space and AI startups, rallied over 7% today after a full-year trading update in which it expected gross portfolio value (GPV) and net asset value (NAV) per share to rise 11% and 13% in the year to 31 March. This represents a slowdown in the second half of its year after GROW reported 8% growth in the first half but came with evidence of strong realisations from the maturing portfolio with £120m of sales proceeds, down from £135m in the previous year, from the partial sales of neobank Revolut at 21 times invested capital and satellite operator ICEYE on a multiple of 12.9. This supported an increase in investment to £89m from £73m, with a further £22m contribution from Molten’s EIS and VCT funds. New investments were made in General Index, Polymodels, MAIA, and Duel, with follow-on Series B investments in Modo Energy and Manna and a secondary investment in the Speedinvest Continuation Fund. Chief executive Ben Wilkinson said: “Our clear focus now is on scaling the business and expanding our third-party co-investment structures,” saying GROW was well positioned for long-term growth. The shares jumped 37p to 568p, although their discount, or gap, to the new anticipated NAV per share of 760p, widened to 34% from 27%.

NB Private Equity (NBPE), the £600m co-investor in unquoted companies in North America and Europe, has made five new investments this year which it hopes will bolster its growth prospects. The investment company, managed by Neuberger Neuman in New York, committed a total of $79m in the first quarter to the new holdings. These comprised of $9m in Conservice, a utility management platform for property management, alongside TPG; $35m in Ryan, a global tax services business; $24m into two undisclosed AI-related companies and $11m to a new investment expected to close in the next few months. Paul Daggett, a managing director at Neuberger, said: “Four of these investments are AI driven, or well positioned to benefit from AI, which we believe presents a compelling long-term opportunity.” Annual results show NBPE made a modest 5% total investment return last year but, after a slow start, realisations were strong with $180m of investments sold at an average 2.8 times over invested capital and at a 17% uplift to their carrying value three quarters earlier. The portfolio saw average revenue and earnings growth of 9.1% and 9.7% although its top ten investments, which include a top holding in discount retailer Action alongside 3i Group (III), delivered double-digit increases on both counts. NBPE returned $102m to shareholders through share buybacks and $0.94 of dividends per share, representing 8% of net assets at the start of 2025. After a 1.7% dip in March, reflecting falls in its quoted investments, the 5.1%-yielder’s net asset value stood per share at $27.12 (£20.57) to which the shares, at £13.80, trade at a 33% discount.  

Literacy Capital (BOOK), the £195m UK private equity fund, emerged from the first quarter with its £289.6m investment portfolio unscathed from the impact of the Middle East conflict. Net asset value per share dipped 0.6% to 481.3p as the valuations of its companies were largely unchanged. However, the shares at 330p have fallen 16%, leaving them on a record 31% discount. Fund manager Richard Pindar said on Friday the company was holding a “series of marketing and investor education initiatives” over the next few weeks to broaden awareness. This started on Saturday with the Master Investor show at the Business Design Centre in London where BOOK had a stall.

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