10th May 2019 16:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - Weiss Korea Opportunity Fund Ltd said Friday 3.3% of shareholders have elected to realise their holding in the closed-ended investment firm.
Weiss Korea was launched in 2013 and committed at that time to offering its shareholders the option of electing to realise all or part of their shareholding before the fourth anniversary of its admission to London's AIM market and every two years after that.
The fund confirmed shareholders totalling 2.7 million shares have elected to take up the offer.
The fund noted that its own directors, and personnel associated with its investment manager and 11% shareholder Weiss Asset Management LP, did not participate at all in the realisation.
As a result, Weiss Korea's portfolio will be divided into two pools: the continuation pool and the realisation pool.
The allocation of the assets and liabilities being allocated to each pool will be determined by the fund's board in "sole discretion on a basis that it deems fair and reasonable and which it considers would be in the best interests of both the holders of realisation shares and the holders of ordinary shares".
The assets in the realisation pool will then be managed in a realisation programme set out by the fund's investment manager - with the aim of making "progressive returns of cash" to holders of the realisation shares.
"The board and investment manager believe that an attractive long-term opportunity continues to exist in Korean preferred shares and we are very grateful to our shareholders for continuing to support our thesis as has been borne out by the results of this realisation opportunity," said Chair Norman Crighton.
Crighton added: "Larger discount Korean preference shares in general are often less liquid than smaller discount Korean preference shares, but the board and investment manager believe that it is currently in the interest of shareholders to trade off liquidity for what it believes to be a portfolio with higher expected returns. As such, as we have recently announced the investment manager plans to rebalance to the company's portfolio, over time, toward larger discount Korean preference shares consistent with its view on the most attractive portfolio."
Shares in Weiss Korea Opportunity were untraded Friday but last closed at 154.00 pence each.
Related Shares:
Weiss Korea Opp