Tue, Apr 23, 2024
A A A
Welcome Guest
Free Trial RSS pod
Get FREE trial access to our award winning publications
Industry Updates

Swiss FoHF Castle Alternative Invest initiates share buyback programme

Monday, June 25, 2012
Opalesque Industry Update - Castle Alternative Invest AG (‘Castle AI’ or ‘the Company’), a fund of hedge funds listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and on the London Stock Exchange, authorized the board to effect a share buyback programme at the Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’) held on 15 May 2012.

Under the programme a maximum of 10 per cent of the Company’s share capital (up to 1,635,281 shares) can be repurchased. The effective size of the programme remains at the discretion of the board in light of available portfolio liquidity, the number of shares already purchased and market conditions.

Dates for the share buyback programme have now been confirmed. It will be executed via a second trading line denominated in CHF which will be opened on the SIX Swiss Exchange on 28 June 2012, and will remain open until 5 June 2013 at the latest. The Company will be the exclusive buyer on the second line and will repurchase shares for the purpose of subsequently reducing its share capital. Zurich Cantonal Bank will be the SIX Swiss Exchange member responsible for setting bid prices on the second line. For shares purchased on the second trading line, Swiss federal withholding tax of 35% of the difference between the repurchase price and the nominal value of the shares (CHF 5) will be deducted from the price.

The AGM also approved a share capital reduction by way of cancellation of 1,128,779 shares, being the number of shares that had been purchased in last year’s second line buyback programme up to 17 April 2012. The cancellation will occur shortly after 24 July 2012.

The Company, which has assets of approximately USD 245 million*, was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in April 1997 and has been dual listed in London since June 2009. Castle AI invests in a diversified and actively managed portfolio of hedge funds, managed accounts and other investment vehicles in order to target long term capital growth.

Castle AI has achieved a net annualised return of 6.16% since inception in US Dollar terms*, compared to an annualised return of 2.45% for the MSCI World Index, with correlation to the index of 0.49. Thomas Weber, head of hedge fund investment management, LGT Capital Partners (LGT CP), has been lead portfolio manager since launch.

Mark White, co-head of listed investment companies, LGT CP, said:

“The board of Castle AI believes in an active approach to managing the discount to net asset value and has implemented this programme to support the price at which shares trade in the secondary market. The Company has a long track record of delivering positive returns, proving an effective investment vehicle for investors wishing to enhance their portfolio diversification. The second trading line should help to tighten the discount, and should result in a share price which better reflects the value of the Company and the quality of its underlying investments.”

* As at 31 May 2012

(press release)

LGT Capital Partners is a leading alternative assets and fund of funds manager focused on institutional investors. The firm currently manages USD 22 billion in hedge fund and private equity investments globally. A team of more than 190 professionals, representing 33 nationalities, is responsible for managing the Crown and Castle alternative investment programmes. Headquartered in Pfaeffikon (SZ), Switzerland, the firm has offices in New York, London, Dublin, Hong Kong and Tokyo. LGT Capital Partners is Investment Adviser to Castle Alternative Invest www.castleai.com

Bg

What do you think?

   Use "anonymous" as my name    |   Alert me via email on new comments   |   
Previous Opalesque Exclusives                                  
Previous Other Voices                                               
Access Alternative Market Briefing

 



  • Top Forwarded
  • Top Tracked
  • Top Searched
  1. KKR raises $6.4bn for the largest pan-Asia infrastructure fund[more]

    Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The New York-based global investment firm KKR has raised a record $6.4bn for its second Asia-focused infrastructure fund, underlining investors' continued appetite for private markets. According to a media release from the alternative assets manager, the figure top

  2. Bucking the trend, top hedge fund makes plans for a second SPAC[more]

    From Institutional Investor: SPACs aren't dead. At least not to the folks at Cormorant Asset Management. The life sciences firm, whose hedge fund topped its peers in 2023, is confident it will match the success of its first blank-check company. Last week, the life sciences and biopharma speciali

  3. Benefit Street Partners closes fifth fund on $4.7 billion[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: Benefit Street Partners has closed its fifth flagship direct lending vehicle, BSP Debt Fund V, with $4.7 billion of investable capital across the strategy. Benefit Street invests primarily in privately originated, floating rate, senior secured loans. The fun

  4. 4 hedge fund themes that are working in 2024[more]

    From The Street: A poor earnings report from Tesla (TSLA) has not hurt the indexes on Thursday. The decline in Tesla stock, which is losing its position in the Magnificent Seven pantheon, is more than offset by strong earnings from IBM (IBM) and ServiceNow (NOW) . In addition, the much higher-t

  5. Opalesque Exclusive: A global macro fund eyes opportunities in bonds[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York for New Managers: Munich-based ThirdYear Capital rebounded in 2023, following a tough year for global macro. The firm's flagship ART Global Macro strategy finished the year up 1