Third Point Investors has rejected demands for a general meeting to vote on a shareholder proposal designed to narrow the discount to the investment trust’s share price and asset value.
The trust, managed by activist investor Daniel Loeb, said the move by Asset Value Investors and two other shareholders would “inappropriately infringe on the board’s ability and obligation to manage the company”. The board said letting investors cash out each quarter would make the company less attractive to investors and threaten its viability.
Shareholders backed the board’s proposal for a share exchange facility at Third Point’s annual general meeting earlier on 8 July. The board said its actions and the company’s investment performance had sent the share price up 28% in 2020, narrowing the share price discount to net asset value to 12%.
The rejection is the latest round in a long-running dispute between Loeb and some of his investors. He told investors earlier in 2020 he said he would not give in to shareholders “seeking to earn a quick buck” by bullying the board into actions that were not in the long-term interests of all investors.
