Open-ended funds run by Merian Global Investors are to sell a chunk of unquoted assets to Merian Chrysalis Investment Company (MERI), which is managed by the same firm. The trust, which was launched last November, is looking to raise £100m by issuing new shares to help finance the acquisition and invest in new opportunities.
The trust's board said this capital would allow its managers, Richard Watts and Nick Williamson, to “exploit a number of exciting opportunities and complete the next phase of portfolio acquisitions”. The managers also intend to invest more money in some of the trust’s existing holdings by purchasing unquoted assets from some of Merian Global Investors' open-ended funds.
“The [trust] intends to allocate approximately 50 per cent of the placing’s proceeds, dependent on the overall size of it, to a number of existing holdings – some of which will be subject to certain consents being obtained,” said the trust's board. “Following completion of the placing, it is expected the additional shares will be acquired immediately from Merian’s open-ended UK small- and mid-cap equity funds. It is anticipated that the interests will be purchased at a modest discount to the latest valuation of those assets.”