Investor group opposing Liontrust’s acquisition of GAM alleges asset manager is spreading ‘false rumors and information’
Investor group opposing Liontrust’s acquisition of GAM alleges asset manager is spreading ‘false rumors and information’
- Liontrust’s proposed acquisition of GAM would create a company with £53 billion in assets under management
- NewGAMe and Bruellan claim the offer ‘significantly undervalues’ the company
- Albert Saporta, the CEO of NewGAMe, accused Liontrust of trying to scare investors
A war of words has erupted over the potential acquisition of GAM after a rebel group of investors accused Liontrust of spreading “false rumors and information” in an attempt to thwart their rival offer.
It comes just a day before the deadline for the Swiss fund manager’s shareholders to accept Liontrust Asset Management’s proposed acquisition of GAM.
The £96 million deal would create a company holding £53 billion in assets under management and a wider range of funds and asset classes.
Allegations: NewGAMe has accused Liontrust Asset Management of spreading ‘false rumors and information’ in an attempt to thwart the proposed partial cash offer for GAM
But NewGAMe and Bruellan, which have an estimated 10 percent stake in GAM, argue the offer is lopsided, contains the company “significantly understated” and unattractive foreclosure terms.
They have submitted a proposal partial counter-proposal that includes issuing a 25 million Swiss francs (£22.3 million) loan, electing a new board of directors and increasing the share of high value-added investment products.
In an email sent by Liontrust’s head of business development, David Boyle, on behalf of the company’s CEO, John Ions, to some GAM investors, it was stated that John Seo, the director of Fermat Capital, an outside executive of GAM, ” questioned the integrity of NewGAMe.’
He added that the Fermat co-founder “had no intention of entering into direct relationships with people he doesn’t trust.”
As a result, Seo was “seriously considering” ending Fermat’s relationship with GAM if the NewGAMe offering was successful.
But Albert Saporta, NewGAMe’s CEO, has published a conversation between him and Seo in which the latter described being “shocked and appalled” by the email.
Seo also claimed he “never wrote those words and would never approve of those words” and contacted Ions, who promised to “retract” the email.
Saporta commented, “With these emails, Liontrust is now spreading false rumors and information to panic shareholders into making a last-minute bid.
“As we should come to the end of this ordeal tomorrow with the Liontrust tender deadline, we are grateful to shareholders who have expressed their support for our turnaround plan by seeing through the misleading statements made by GAM and Liontrust and not relying on this deal. subscribe.’
A NewGAMe spokesperson confirmed the email exchange between the Seo and Saporta to This is Money.
Liontrust acknowledged the email sent by Boyle, but would not say whether Ions had disavowed it.
Anthony Maarek, managing director of NJJ Holding, which oversees NewGAMe, told Liontrust chairman Alastair Barbour in a letter that the The Swiss Takeover Board has been contacted about the emails.
Maarek accused Liontrust of “crossing the boundaries of what can be done decently and legally” to convince investors to accept a buyout offer.
shares of Liontrust Asset Management were 1.2 percent, or 7 cents, higher at 605 cents on Wednesday afternoon, though they’re down about 70 percent over the past two years.
The company’s operating profit fell by more than a third to £49.3m in the 12 months ended March as investors withdraw more money from riskier asset classes through its UK retail funds and managed portfolio services.
Equity markets have been hurt by growing economic uncertainty, partly caused by central banks raising interest rates in an attempt to dampen inflation.