Alliance Trust chief gains support of third-largest supporter
The chief executive of Alliance Trust has gained the support of third-largest shareholder, The Beano publishers DC Thomson, in its battle against US hedge fund Elliott Advisors.
Investors in the 127-year-old investment manager have been split over attempts by Elliott to shake-up the board through the appointment of three new non-executive directors.
DC Thomson, which owns a 5.5% stake in Alliance, said it was "satisfied" the group has continued to address its concerns about issues such as governance, capital growth, dividend and underlying costs.
"This is in some degree borne out by recent performance," it said.
Investors will be asked to vote of Elliott's proposal at the next annual meeting, which is taking place on April 29th.
DC Thomson continued: "[The] Elliott proposals offer board and governance change, but, while we welcome open debate, we see nothing in their proposals to persuade us to give them our backing and we intend to vote against their resolutions to nominate new directors."
Chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox previously responded to Elliott's criticism by saying she would not be "bullied into doing something just because someone stands up and shouts at us".