LONDON - In a decisive outcome, the shareholders of Herald Investment Trust PLC have voted against a series of proposed resolutions brought forward by activist investor Saba Capital. At the general meeting held today, a significant 65.10% of votes were cast against the resolutions, which included the removal of current directors and the appointment of new ones suggested by Saba.
The total votes against the resolutions exceeded 26.4 million, representing a majority of the company's voting rights. Notably, excluding Saba's own 14.1 million votes in favor of their resolutions, only 59,221 shares, or about 0.15% of votes, supported the proposals, indicating a strong preference among non-Saba shareholders for the current management and strategy.
Andrew Joy, Chairman of Herald Investment Trust, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, highlighting the near-unanimous rejection of Saba's proposals by non-Saba shareholders. He emphasized the shareholders' commitment to the company's long-term strategy of capital appreciation through investments in smaller technology companies, rather than a short-term trading strategy.
Independent (LON:IOG) proxy advisers including Glass Lewis (JO:LEWJ) and ISS also supported the votes against Saba's proposals. The results reaffirm the shareholders' confidence in the existing board and management team, as well as the investment strategy that has been in place since the company's inception in 1994.
Joy thanked the shareholders for their support and regretted the costs incurred due to the attempted resolutions by Saba, which cannot be reclaimed. He also reiterated the company's focus on value creation through patient growth in net asset value (NAV) and optimal capital allocation, citing Herald's consistent share buybacks since 2007 and the substantial net assets of £1.2 billion.
The Board, in consultation with its advisers, will consider the next steps following this clear mandate from shareholders to continue with the current strategy. The detailed results of the poll for each resolution were reported, with the voting process independently assessed by Civica Election Services.
The information for this article is based on a press release statement from Herald Investment Trust PLC.
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