Impax Environmental Markets launches exit tender after clash with Saba

(Sharecast News) - Impax Environmental Markets launched an exit tender offer on Tuesday, that would allow eligible shareholders to sell up to 100% of their holdings for cash, after a previous continuation tender failed because activist investor Saba Capital declined to participate. The FTSE 250 investment trust said the new proposal was intended to give investors an opportunity to exit at close to net asset value while addressing the risk that remaining shareholders could be left in a much smaller company potentially controlled by Saba, which had built its stake to 22.1%.

Chairman Glen Suarez said the board had "exhausted every reasonable alternative" after months of engagement with shareholders and Saba following the trust's 2025 annual meeting, where investors had overwhelmingly backed IEM's continuation and its environmental markets strategy.

He said the earlier continuation tender, launched in January, had been the only viable attempt to balance the interests of shareholders seeking liquidity with those wanting to remain invested, but it was cancelled on 27 February after Saba refused to tender its shares.

Under the new proposal, the exit tender offer was conditional on shareholder approval at a general meeting scheduled for 16 April, with the resolution requiring more than 50% of votes cast to pass.

The offer opened on Tuesday and was due to close on 17 April, with the results of shareholder elections expected around 21 April and the tender price expected to be announced by the end of May.

Impax said the price would be based on the final asset value of the tender pool.

The board said all directors intended to vote in favour of the resolution and tender all of their own shares, adding that once the tender was completed and the new shareholder base is known, they would consider their ongoing positions with the company.

It also warned that investors who did not actively elect to participate would remain shareholders in a significantly smaller trust, where Saba could end up with a controlling interest and potentially influence the strategy, objectives and mandate.

The dispute had become a flashpoint in the investment trust sector, with IEM the second FTSE 250 trust after Edinburgh Worldwide to propose an exit offer following a clash with Saba.

At the close on Tuesday, shares in Impax Environmental Markets were up 1.44% at 422p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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