Update: ACG maintains Gabelli Value Plus+ liquidation would be ‘short-sighted’
Lauren Mason, Investment week, 8 February 2021
The GVP board announced on Monday (8 February) morning it would convene a general meeting in July, followed by a special resolution, to place the vehicle into members’ voluntary liquidation.
The board said ACG, the trust’s largest shareholder – which owns a 27.4% stake – would abstain on voting on these resolutions, having blocked liquidation for several months.
In July last year, two-thirds of GVP shareholders voted against continuation of the trust, but ACG used its large position to block liquidation, a vote on which needs 75% to be in favour.
ACG was recently spun out of GAMCO, the parent company of GVP’s investment manager Gabelli Funds. Its executive CEO Mario Gabelli is senior portfolio manager of the GVP.
In a press release issued on Monday afternoon, ACG confirmed it would first abstain from the continuation vote and then the liquidation vote at the general meeting slated for July.
However, the firm added it maintained that the liquidation of trust “just as GVP’s holdings were regaining their footing, was short-sighted”…
Now, the board has said this meeting will consider a “continuation vote resolution followed by a special resolution to place the company in members’ voluntary liquidation”.
“The company has undertaken not to put proposals to shareholders for a tender offer or other return of capital prior to the date of the general meeting,” it said.
“The board intends to include further details of the proposed continuation vote and liquidation in a circular that will be sent to shareholders in June 2021.”
ACG’s approach towards finding a solution has come under fire from several analysts and investment professionals over recent months, with Stifel referring to the situation as “rather a mess” and head of investment company research at QuotedData James Carthew calling the debacle “one of the more outrageous moves we have seen in the investment company sector for some time”.
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