Saba makes third attempt to oust EWI board

(Sharecast News) - Saba Capital Management has renewed its efforts to oust the entire board of Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust following two unsuccessful attempts. New York-based Saba - EWI's largest shareholder - said in an open letter on Tuesday that it "continues to believe that EWI shareholders deserve better than the status quo".

The activist investor, which has tried and failed twice already to have the entire EWI board ousted and replaced by three of its own US-based nominees, called on shareholders to vote against the re-election of the current directors at the upcoming annual general meeting.

Saba said: "Our long-standing concerns regarding EWI's history of underperformance combined with the board's governance and oversight failures led us to propose resolutions be added to the notice of the upcoming annual general meeting to enable shareholders to elect three new qualified, independent directors committed to delivering long-term value.

"Saba also intends to reject the re-election of the incumbent directors. After just 53.2% of shares voted chose to stick with the status quo at the January 2026 requisitioned general meeting, we believe a meaningful portion of shareholders remain unhappy.

"As a result, we believe shareholders would benefit from having a refreshed board composed of directors who possess objective viewpoints, hands-on investment management experience and an understanding of shareholders' perspectives."

Saba once again pointed to EWI's "consistent" underperformance, the "flawed" sell-down of SpaceX and the board's "weak oversight" of Baillie Gifford.

Responding to the open letter on Tuesday, a EWI spokesperson said: "For the third time, Saba is seeking to replace the entire independent board with its own nominees in order to take control of the company. In doing so, it is repeating a number of misleading statements that have featured throughout its aggressive and personal campaign."

They pointed out that only three weeks ago, a record 70% of shareholders participated in the second vote in less than a year, with an overwhelming majority of 93% of non-Saba holders again rejecting its proposals.

"Despite this decisive outcome and the strong shareholder opposition to Saba taking control, Saba is evidently choosing not to listen," they said.

The spokesperson said that since shareholders rejected Saba's resolutions last month, the board has made a number of attempts to engage with the activist investor and its advisers. "On every occasion, Saba has failed to engage," it said.