Timetable revealed for Waterfall acquisition of Alternative Credit Investments
Waterfall Asset Management’s takeover of the Alternative Credit Investments (ACI) fund could complete by 25 March next year.
A timetable for the takeover of the alternative finance-focused fund, previously known as Pollen Street Secured Lending, was published today (25 November) and outlines the stages to complete Waterfall’s £639.2m acquisition.
The takeover requires backing of 75 per cent of shareholders at a general meeting on 17 December.
Shareholders can vote by post but forms must be received 48 hours before the meeting or they can attend and vote remotely on the day.
The voting result will be announced on 18 December and a court hearing will then be needed to approve the transaction.
The aim is for shares to be removed from trading and delisted a few days after the court hearing and for the deal to complete and transfer of all shares to Waterfall to be finalised by 21 March.
The dates are subject to change depending on regulatory issues and the court timetable.
Read more: What next for the shrinking P2P investment trust space?
Simon King, chair of ACI, said directors believe the acquisition “to be fair and reasonable and in the best interests of shareholders.”
It comes after a London Stock Exchange announcement earlier this month revealed Waterfall EIT UK – a newly-formed company managed by Waterfall Asset Management – had agreed to acquire ACI.
Under the terms of the acquisition, all ACI shareholders will receive 870p per share, as well as an interim dividend of up to 12p per share for the third quarter of the year.
The acquisition price represents a premium of approximately 5.1 per cent on the closing price of 828p per ACI share, as at 24 February 2020. This was the last business day prior to the start of a proposed 12-month offer period, during which time the fund also received and rejected an offer from Honeycomb Investment Management.
The fund was called P2P Global Investments when it first launched in 2014 before rebranding to PSSL last year, reflecting a shift from backing marketplace loans to secured assets.
