LONDON (Alliance News) - Electra Private Equity PLC on Friday disclosed that Sherborne Investors, the activist investor headed by Edward Bramson, has increased its stake in the company to just under 31%, a couple of weeks after Electra received a requisition from the investor to hold a general meeting.
Electra said in a stock market filing that Sherborne, through three investment vehicles and a personal stake held by Bramson, now owns 31% of the total voting rights of the company. It increased the stake on Wednesday and informed Electra of the changes on Thursday.
The stake comprises a 29.75% direct stake in the company, plus another 1.17% via a convertible bond holding. Combining the two, Sherborne now owns 30.92% of the total voting rights.
The increase in the stake, up from just under 30% previously, comes after Sherborne in September requisitioned a general meeting at Electra. It has proposed that Bramson, the founder of Sherborne, and Ian Brindle, a longtime associate of Bramson and Sherborne's former chairman, be appointed to the board.
It marked the second time Sherborne has sought board representation at Electra, having done so a year ago when it launched a campaign for Electra to make changes to improve its overall performance. Electra said that since Sherborne launched its last, unsuccessful campaign to put its representatives on Electra's board, it has held talks with Sherborne and said the latest requisition has been made after it confirmed to Sherborne that it remains unanimous in opposing any potential board changes proposed by the investor.
Sherborne, reacting to Electra's statement in September, said Roger Yates, Electra's chairman, has drawn a "red line" over any board representation for Sherborne, "without offering any sensible explanation". Sherborne said it thinks Bramson and Brindle are well qualified to assist the board in improving the operational performance of Electra's portfolio companies.
Shares in Electra were down 0.5% to 3,280.15 pence on Friday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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