Alliance Trust has admitted it spent £3m fighting Elliott Advisors, only to capitulate and install two of the US hedge fund’s three proposed directors, reports the Financial Times.
The FT has reported Alliance Trust’s chairman, Karin Forseke, has revealed the scale of its efforts to fight its largest shareholder to attendents at the trust’s annual general meeting (AGM) today.
Ms Forseke said it was “important shareholders recognise the costs associated with this action” but justified the expense by claiming “the board believes we need appropriate professional advice and this is expensive”.
Ms Forseke said the compromise deal struck between Alliance Trust and Elliott on Tuesday, in which Alliance agreed to appoint two of Elliott’s proposed non-executive directors to its board in return for the investor agreeing not to agitate again for at least a year, was “perceived as a u-turn”.
But she claimed “with uncertainty removed, the board can focus wholly on its strategy for the future and improving investment performance”.
