20th Oct 2016 09:53
LONDON (Alliance News) - Investment funds Foresight 3 VCT PLC and Foresight 4 VCT PLC on Thursday outlined plans to merge to create a fund with more assets on its books but lower costs.
The two said they have held preliminary discussions and will seek views from shareholders on the plans at the time of their interim reports in November.
The pair said the move would create a venture capital trust with GBP70.0 million in assets under management, while the annual management fee would fall to 2.0% of net assets from 2.25% currently.
The portfolio of the combined fund would have investments in 25 companies on its books and would be better able to raise funds to continue its current investment strategy, the two VCTs said.
The two companies added the merged company intends to launch a share buyback programme which would narrow its share price discount to net asset value to around 10%.
Foresight 4 VCT said Philip Stephens intends to step down as chairman. He will leave when a new chairman is appointed or by the end of March 2017.
Foresight 3 VCT shares were up 8.2% on Thursday to 46.00 pence, while Foresight 4 VCT shares were up 14% to 57.90p.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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