11 December 2019
CRYSTAL AMBER FUND
LIMITED
(“Crystal Amber
Fund” or the “Fund”)
Crystal Amber Fund
withdraws requisition of General Meeting of Allied Minds plc
Crystal Amber Fund, the activist investment fund, notes the
announcement made today by the Board of Allied Minds plc (“Allied
Minds”) in response to the Fund’s general meeting requisition
announced on 21 November 2019.
In light of Allied Minds’ appointment to its board of
Mark Lerdal, the director candidate
proposed by the Fund (who has directly relevant experience of
realising shareholder value from a comparable US-based, UK-listed
company), and the other announced changes to the Allied Minds board
and to executive compensation, the Fund has formally withdrawn the
requisition notice.
Actions such as the announced board changes and the focus on
maximising cash returns to shareholders – not least from the recent
sale of Allied Minds’ stake in HawkEye 360 – demonstrate the value
of Crystal Amber Fund’s activist investment approach.
Richard Bernstein,
investment adviser to Crystal Amber Fund, said: “We have
always attempted to engage positively in a private manner with our
investee companies in an effort to effect change in the interests
of all shareholders. This is one of a small number of cases
where we have felt obliged to take public action to ensure that
shareholder interests are being properly considered. We are
pleased that the Board of Allied Minds has engaged with us and the
outcome of this process is an acknowledgment that Allied Minds can
do more to maximise the realisation of shareholder value. We
are also encouraged about the progress we believe can now be made
in this regard.”
For further enquiries please contact:
Crystal Amber Fund Limited |
|
Christopher Waldron (Chairman) |
Tel: 01481 742 742 |
|
|
Allenby Capital Limited - Nominated Adviser |
|
David Worlidge/Liz Kirchner |
Tel: 020 3328 5656 |
|
|
Winterflood Investment Trusts - Broker |
|
Joe Winkley/Neil Langford |
Tel: 020 3100 0160 |
|
|
Crystal Amber Advisers (UK) LLP - Investment
Adviser |
|
Richard Bernstein |
Tel: 020 7478 9080 |
|
|