LONDON (Reuters) - Alliance Trust (L:ATST) Chairwoman Karin Forseke sought to rally support in a fight to derail Elliott Advisors' plan to overhaul her board on Friday, asking investors to consider who they "trust" to run the 126-year old firm.
Rebel shareholder Elliott, which has made a string of criticisms against the performance and governance of Alliance Trust, has called a vote on the appointment of three new independent directors on April 29.
Forseke said directors of Alliance Trust were "acutely aware" of their responsibilities for the stewardship of the company's heritage and protecting investors' wealth in a statement that urged shareholders to reject Elliott's plan.
"We have previously described Elliott and their affiliates as a business that seeks to influence companies to change their strategic direction through public and disruptive campaigns," Forseke said in a letter to shareholders.
"As a hedge fund manager they do this to create value for their own investors and we believe they have very different perspectives from other shareholders of Alliance Trust."
Meanwhile, in a second open letter to investors, sent shortly after Forseke's appeal, former non-executive director Tim Ingram, who is also a current shareholder, said the Trust was being run "primarily in the interests of management".
"With these three sound people on the board, neither the chairman nor the CEO will be able to prevent healthy board discussion and action on performance, strategy and remuneration. That would be a real benefit for us shareholders," he said.
Independent advisory groups Pensions & Investment Research Consultants, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc and ShareSoc have all backed plans to install the three directors.