Waterfall takeover offer deadline for PSSL extended until 16 June
Pollen Street Secured Lending (PSSL), the alternative finance-focused investment trust, has seen yet another deadline pass for a takeover offer from Waterfall Asset Management.
The New York-based asset manager first made an offer for PSSL in February, which sparked a rift between the PSSL board and the investment manager Pollen Street Capital (PSC). The board terminated its management agreement after accusing PSC of withholding due diligence information.
Waterfall Asset Management was originally due to decide whether to go ahead with its takeover offer by 24 March but the deadline was moved to 21 April and then extended again until 19 May.
This week, the deadline shifted once again, to 16 June.
Waterfall has said it remains committed to a possible offer subject to discussions and due diligence.
“The board has agreed to the extension of the relevant deadline because it believes, in the light of the
continued commitment of Waterfall and the company’s largest shareholder [Invesco], it is in the best interests of the company and shareholders to continue to seek to bring the possible offer to the point where it can be formally considered,” PSSL said.
The PSSL board is reviewing all options in the event that the possible offer does not proceed.
PSSL also noted that cash balances in the company at the end of March were over £90m, having increased from £54m at the end of February.
“The manager has adopted a prudent approach to new lending with the expectation that the cash position will continue to build over the coming months as the portfolio reduces in size,” PSSL said.
“The board does not believe that the offer period has impacted the operational performance of the
company or other strategic decisions.”
The investment trust’s share price has suffered in recent months, with a 13.87 per cent decline since February.
In contrast, the investment trust debt lending sector is collectively down by 8.84 per cent.
Additionally, PSSL’s net asset value return is 0.47 per cent over three months compared with 1.97 per cent across the wider sector.
PSSL’s performance looks better over the shorter term, with its share price up 7.93 per cent between April and May compared with a 4.13 per cent return among its peers.
Read more: What does the future hold for the world’s first P2P lending investment trust?
