Opposition to Liontrust's takeover of Swiss asset manager GAM is growing.
A group of investors’ criticism of the proposed certain points related to the takeover of GAM by Liontrust as being unfair, has led the Swiss takeover board to review the takeover, GAM said in a statement Wednesday.
The shareholder group, led by Bruellan/Newgame, Rock Investment and Phoenix Insurance holds about 8.4 percent of GAM, is expecting the takeover commission to declare various conditions of the offer invalid.
Disadvantaged Shareholders
The investor group is particularly critical of the Takeover Commission's ruling that Liontrust can make the offer conditional on GAM's successful exit from its fund management business in Luxembourg and Switzerland.
This condition makes the offer unfair to GAM shareholders. It favors the bidder and contradicts the principles of Swiss takeover law.
Home-Grown Troubles
GAM has been struggling with the consequences of home-grown mistakes for years, including its involvement in the collapse of supply chain finance group Greensill Capital.
The company, which was spun off from Julius Baer in 2009, reported a net loss of 290 million Swiss francs for the financial year 2022, mainly due to brand impairment.
