Jan 20 (Reuters) – Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust said on Tuesday its shareholders have rejected all resolutions proposed by top shareholder Saba Capital to replace its entire board.
Of the total votes cast, 53.2% were against the proposals by Boaz Weinstein’s hedge fund at a requisitioned general meeting. Over 70% of total shares participated in the vote in what the company called a record turnout.
Saba had renewed its call for investors to elect a new, independent board after Edinburgh Worldwide cut its stake in Elon Musk-owned SpaceX by about 35% in October.
The U.S. activist investor had called the sell down “suspiciously timed” and alleged it was done to facilitate a merger with Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust, which had also cut its SpaceX stake. In December, Saba blocked the proposed merger of the London-listed investment trusts.
The board would seek constructive engagement with Saba to develop solutions to move forward, Edinburgh Worldwide’s Chair Jonathan Simpson-Dent said.
Saba Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job, additional reporting by Atharva Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
