Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust hits back at Saba as shareholder saga continues

(Sharecast News) - Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust has hit back at demands by Saba Capital Management to replace its entire board, calling for the major stakeholder to be open about its intentions. Over the past year, Saba, which owns just under 30% of EWIT, has been campaigning to remove all of EWIT's independent board directors and replace them with its own three US-based directors.

On Tuesday, EWIT published an open letter, saying Saba must provide shareholders with "full transparency and clarity" about whether it intends to change the investment manager (currently Baillie Gifford) and the investment strategy.

EWIT wants Saba to outline the nature of its board nominees' past or present relationship with Saba, and confirm whether it will allow shareholders a "full exit" due to the change in strategy.

The open letter followed a Saba statement on Monday, which raised "severe governance concerns" and claimed that the EWIT board "continues to put its own interests - and Baillie Gifford's - ahead of shareholders".

In particular, Saba lambasted EWIT's decision to sell down its stake in SpaceX - "the crown jewel of its portfolio and a primary reason why many shareholders invested in EWI".

The hedge fund also attacked a proposed "self-serving merger with another Baillie Gifford trust, which would only concentrate power in the manager's hands at the expense of EWI shareholders".

Saba had proposed a similar shakeup of EWIT's board 12 months ago, which was overwhelmingly rejected by shareholders. EWIT claims that it was an attempt to "take control of the board in order to pursue your own agenda rather than the long-term interests of EWIT shareholders as a whole".