Key Takeaways
- • Saba Capital, the $6 billion hedge fund run by Boaz Weinstein, secured its first shareholder victory in a multi-year activist campaign against Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWIT), with shareholders voting to support tender offer proposals aligned with Saba's strategy at an April 30, 2026 shareholder meeting.
- • The win marks a breakthrough after two consecutive defeats: Saba's initial board replacement attempt failed in early 2025, and a January 2026 requisitioned general meeting was also repelled by EWIT's existing board.
- • EWIT, a 130-year-old FTSE 250 trust managed by Baillie Gifford with £847 million ($1.1 billion) in assets, will now offer shareholders tender options at net asset value minus costs, with a portion of capital potentially deferred until a future SpaceX liquidity event, reflecting Saba's core grievance over the trust's persistent discount to net asset value.
- • Saba has increased its shareholding from 25% to 30% of EWIT and has established itself as the trust's largest shareholder, leveraging this position to drive governance changes after a sustained campaign targeting multiple UK investment trusts trading below intrinsic value since late 2024.
- • The shareholder vote outcome triggered a sharp war of words between Saba and EWIT chair Jonathan Simpson-Dent, who accused Weinstein's fund of contradicting its own publicly stated commitments and demanded proof of trustworthiness regarding shareholder proposals.
Summary
Boaz Weinstein's activist hedge fund Saba Capital has achieved a significant breakthrough in its contentious multi-year campaign against Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust after shareholders voted in favor of tender offer proposals aligned with the activist's strategy at the April 30, 2026 annual general meeting. The victory represents the first successful shareholder outcome for Saba in its campaign targeting the 130-year-old FTSE 250 trust managed by Baillie Gifford, following two prior defeats in early 2025 and January 2026. EWIT's board has agreed to proceed with tender offers allowing investors to exit positions at net asset value minus associated costs, with options for execution in the near term or tied to a future liquidity event—most significantly, a potential SpaceX listing—that would unlock the trust's substantial private technology holdings.
Saba's persistent activist pressure has centered on EWIT's persistent discount to net asset value, a core inefficiency affecting closed-end fund valuations. The New York-based hedge fund, which manages approximately $6 billion in assets, initially attempted to overhaul EWIT's board in February 2025 but failed to secure sufficient shareholder support. A second attempt through a requisitioned general meeting in January 2026 was similarly repelled by the existing board. However, sustained pressure—including accumulating its shareholding from 25% to 30%, making Saba EWIT's largest shareholder—has forced meaningful concessions from management. The tender offer mechanism represents a structural solution to the discount problem that Saba had championed, allowing shareholders liquidity rights previously unavailable in the closed-end vehicle.
The outcome has ignited a bitter public dispute between Saba and EWIT chair Jonathan Simpson-Dent, who leveled pointed criticism at the activist fund's conduct. Simpson-Dent stated: "It is extraordinary that Saba has now chosen to block its own proposal which it claims it is still endorsing. This complete contradiction lays bare the fact that Saba cannot be trusted to follow through on its own commitments, even where those commitments were made publicly to shareholders." Simpson-Dent had previously characterized the activist campaign as a "significant and costly distraction" to the fund's operations. The chair's remarks suggest tension over Saba's evolving strategy and apparent shifts in publicly stated positions during the campaign.
Saba's campaign reflects a broader activist push into the UK closed-end fund sector that commenced in late 2024, when Weinstein's hedge fund simultaneously targeted seven different trusts trading at substantial discounts to net asset value. While earlier attempts to secure direct board control across multiple vehicles largely failed, the sustained pressure has prompted governance adjustments and structural solutions at some targets. EWIT's acceptance of tender offer mechanisms—including the potential deferral of SpaceX-linked capital until monetization—signals a meaningful concession to shareholder liquidity demands that Saba has aggressively championed, establishing a potential template for resolving discount issues at other UK investment trusts.
Saba's persistent activist pressure has centered on EWIT's persistent discount to net asset value, a core inefficiency affecting closed-end fund valuations. The New York-based hedge fund, which manages approximately $6 billion in assets, initially attempted to overhaul EWIT's board in February 2025 but failed to secure sufficient shareholder support. A second attempt through a requisitioned general meeting in January 2026 was similarly repelled by the existing board. However, sustained pressure—including accumulating its shareholding from 25% to 30%, making Saba EWIT's largest shareholder—has forced meaningful concessions from management. The tender offer mechanism represents a structural solution to the discount problem that Saba had championed, allowing shareholders liquidity rights previously unavailable in the closed-end vehicle.
The outcome has ignited a bitter public dispute between Saba and EWIT chair Jonathan Simpson-Dent, who leveled pointed criticism at the activist fund's conduct. Simpson-Dent stated: "It is extraordinary that Saba has now chosen to block its own proposal which it claims it is still endorsing. This complete contradiction lays bare the fact that Saba cannot be trusted to follow through on its own commitments, even where those commitments were made publicly to shareholders." Simpson-Dent had previously characterized the activist campaign as a "significant and costly distraction" to the fund's operations. The chair's remarks suggest tension over Saba's evolving strategy and apparent shifts in publicly stated positions during the campaign.
Saba's campaign reflects a broader activist push into the UK closed-end fund sector that commenced in late 2024, when Weinstein's hedge fund simultaneously targeted seven different trusts trading at substantial discounts to net asset value. While earlier attempts to secure direct board control across multiple vehicles largely failed, the sustained pressure has prompted governance adjustments and structural solutions at some targets. EWIT's acceptance of tender offer mechanisms—including the potential deferral of SpaceX-linked capital until monetization—signals a meaningful concession to shareholder liquidity demands that Saba has aggressively championed, establishing a potential template for resolving discount issues at other UK investment trusts.
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