9th May 2018 12:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - LIM Advisors (London) Ltd said on Wednesday that Ranger Direct Lending Fund PLC, in which its holds a 9.2% interest through one of its funds, should be wound up on the grounds of "serious concerns about its future".
In a letter to Ranger Direct's shareholders, LIM Advisors said that Ranger Direct should be wound up as it has "no viable future", its board of directors reshuffled, and current chairman, Christopher Waldron, removed and two new non-executive directors appointed.
LIM Advisors said Ranger Direct does not have the scale required to conduct a diversified lending business. It also is too small as a listed company to reduce its discount to net asset value, while also being unable to arrange a share buyback programme of sufficient size and "still remaining viable and relevant to investors" due to its small market capitalisation of GBP129.0 million.
The two directors LIM Advisors have nominated are Brendan Hawthorne, currently non-executive director of Phaunos Timber Fund Ltd, which is also in the process of winding down, and Eric Long, president of the Boulder, Colorado market for lender First Western Trust Bank, and brother of George Long, chairman of LIM Advisors.
On Tuesday, shareholder Oaktree Capital Management LP wrote a letter to Ranger Direct, nominating two different directors, and also taking a stance of recommending that the fund be wound up.
LIM Advisors said on Wednesday they agree with Oaktree's position, and noted that they collectively hold a 28% stake in Ranger Direct.
In response to Oaktree's letter on Tuesday, Ranger Direct said that letter was "factually incorrect and misinformed", and also noted that Oaktree and LIM Advisers would propose at the fund's annual general meeting to nominate two new directors and remove the Chairman Waldron.
"The company views this as further evidence of certain shareholders seeking to impose their own agenda for the future of the company," Ranger Direct said in the statement.
Ranger Direct's annual general meeting will be held on June 19.
Shares in Ranger Direct Lending Fund were down 0.5% at 776.00 pence on Wednesday.
Related Shares:
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