Readers will no doubt be aware from the national media and communications with shareholders that RIT Capital have approached Alliance Trust about a possible merger. The press have noted the problems faced by Alliance in the last few years such as the persistently high discount and the attack by Elliot Advisors (supported by ATSAG/ShareSoc of course) that resulted in board changes. RIT shares have traded at a premium to net asset value recently and media comments tend to generally be positive ...

Several newspapers reported this morning that Alliance Trust (ATST) has been approached by RIT Capital Partners (RCP) about a possible merger. Both companies are listed investment trusts favoured by private investors. Alliance Trust has been going through some difficult times of late after a period of poor relative performance resulting in a high discount to net asset value (currently over 10% according to the AIC despite an active share buy-back programme whereas RCP is on a 6% premium at the time ...