Aberdeen Prv Share Discussion Threads

[rambutan2] 12/12/2011 01:59

SKYSHIP,

caught a quick look at LMS, so a few thoughts. First, I see that Glenn Payne left on Fri. In his short stay at LMS he'd done a remarkably good job of cleaning up the mish mash that he took on. In fact too good a job (I suspect) as he'd showed up Lord Rayne and his regime for what they were - amateurs. So, will others in the team follow, and if so will those left have the skills to sell good. Getting out of the direct holdings will be a tricky business and I think that there could be substantial variations on the current valuations, both up and down. And 2yrs is not very long to do it in.

All in all, my experience of the Lord Rayne period LMS makes me wary enough of the outcome to avoid the shares. Although I will follow events with interest.

I noted the performance fees - pre and post 2010 - and wondered whether they could kick in.

Could the LMS tax assets be worth something at the end of the day?

[skyship] 11/12/2011 17:26

I have started a Private Equity thread ("PE"):



I do hope that readers will bookmark this new thread and share their knowledge and expertise over there from time to time.

[skyship] 09/12/2011 09:23

RAM - Roll on Sept'13 then! Thnx for pointing that out. Another bull point for APEF.

Also thnx for that link. A lot to read and a lot to learn.

RE LMS, which I see listed as one of the players on the LPEQ thread, what is needed for the next/last two years is of course the right team to maximise value from the sale, rather than the best PE analysers for future investments!

The value there starts from the fact that they hold 11p/share in CASH and 7p/share in the US listed Weatherford International. Sell that and they already have 33% of the current share price in CASH before they even start on the PE liquidation process...

[rambutan2] 09/12/2011 03:08

SKYSHIP,

from rns of 4/05/11...
As part of the proposal the Board will commit to put forward a continuation vote as an ordinary resolution at the Annual General Meeting in 2013 and every third Annual General Meeting thereafter.

I'm self taught, mainly from reading so many annual reports etc over the last decade and attending Agms and the like. I've met most of the managers at one time or other and been invited to analyst presentations a few times. It's a fairly small world.

This site may have something useful.


Re LMS, I know the older stuff in the port and wasn't a fan of most of it or the management. The new manager looked better but has now been stopped in his tracks by the old one. So perhaps not the best atmosphere to get full value? In any case, I'll take a look over the weekend.

[skyship] 08/12/2011 14:02

RAM - sorry, another question - actually more of a favour:

Could you run your eye over LMS for me. Here is a PE company now in voluntary liquidation thanks to the efforts of a 37% concert party. It has an NAV of 90p, yet the shares languish down at 56.5p for a 38% NAV discount. I'm simply amazed that they haven't started to close the gap.

Here again one of the aspects I view as positive is the fact that c62% of their investment assets are US-based.

I have a full 10% allocation; so won't buy more - just unable to understand why they are so out of favour!

[skyship] 08/12/2011 12:04

RAM - good to be in touch again. The happy Split Zeros days seem far, far away!

However, there are surely some similarities between maturing PE companies and expiring Zeros. Not so much as with those in voluntary liquidation (see my SL thread); but surely HPEQ will not be the last to throw in the towel.

APEF in particular seems a likely candidate in view of its size. Surely that Jun'11 tender offer didn't represent a fair value exit for the three big shareholders, so I would say that a Sept'13 AGM continuation vote would be a good opportunity to secure liquidation, though presumably could take another couple of years past that date. That said, the principal shareholders are so large they could obviously force the pace at any time of their choosing.

Incidentally, so far I haven't yet found mention of that continuation vote. Is it on their website?

You seem to be well versed in how these PE companies function and operate. Have you worked in that industry perhaps?

Another question. Do you know a link to any "educational" material with which one can learn more about PE generally?

Finally, for the moment, after reading yr post I've decided to take the small turn on SEP and buy into PIN. Stupidly paid over the odds for 2000, then a better price later for 1000.

[rambutan2] 08/12/2011 02:45

Hi SKYSHIP,

little chance of a wind-up call within that time period, as all had a chance to tender their shares in June ( ).

I think that there is an Agm continuation vote in 2013 though.

However, Aberdeen are pretty keen to keep the trust going.

My view is that it's got an ok portfolio, although a young one. Pros are that it's mainly in the States, it mainly avoids the larger buyout stuff and thus the leverage, and the trust itself is not overcommitted. Cons are that it is immature, that the Aberdeen mngt team are inexperienced in this field, and that the trust is too small and the shares illiquid. That said, the discount is way overdone for what is a reasonably safe investment, albeit likely a long term one.

A small trust which will be paying out within a shorter time is MTH. It's in wind-up mode and has large shareholders who won't let things slip too much ie Peter Spiller, Trojan and L&G. Also the manager, Adrian Johnson, is fairly keen to cash in his over 4% stake - he even bought a few more recently. He's a good guy. I'd reckon on something coming back within a couple of years. The ports potential is for a north of 200p nav.

I see that you're in SEP. It's not a favourite of mine as it's pure middle/large buyout stuff ie lots of leverage, and little diversification. Also I think the managers arrogant.

Best buy at the mo is PIN which has a very mature portfolio, 40% of which is in unleveraged, mature, US venture/growth stuff. While the buyout stuff is mainly medium/small, with less leverage. It has no debt at the company level and indeed is akin to a cash machine. The board are currently using this cash to buy back shares. Any new commitments will be for secondary portfolios, which are a much safer bet than committing to new funds and are an area that Pantheon are one of the main players in. The port is US$ weighted which I think is a good place to be at the moment. On a 40% plus discount it really is completely wrongly priced.

Aimho.

[skyship] 07/12/2011 17:26

Hmmm -

NAV - 97.75p
SP - 53.00p
DISC. - 45.8%

HOLDINGS.................STAKE

Windsor Life.............26.3%
Hants CC Pension Fund....23.1%
Merseyside Pension Fund..18.8%
Henderson Global Invs.....6.5%

TOTAL of 4...............74.7%

If those four august bodies wouldn't like to see their cash back at
something nearer that 97.75p, then they shouldn't be in the investment
game.

A £ to the proverbial penny we'll see a wind-up call within the next
12months; and on that assumption I've made my first purchase here of
15k @ 53.5p. Will look to add...

RAM - are you still here? Any views?

In the meantime will seek to shed some light on this unknown stock.

[rambutan2] 22/6/2011 00:45

The Board of Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Limited announces that the special resolution proposed at the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company held in Guernsey earlier today (17/06/11) was duly approved.

The Tender Offer for the purchase of Shares at 67.5p pence per Share closed at 1.00 p.m. on 15 June 2011. A total of 41,691,918 Shares were validly tendered and tender applications will be satisfied in full.

In accordance with its commitment, the Company is repurchasing 17 million Shares for cancellation. The remaining 24,691,918 Shares have been successfully placed by Matrix Corporate Capital LLP with third party investors.

The cancellation of the repurchased shares will result in an uplift to net asset value per share of 3p. Following implementation of the Tender Offer, the Company will have 108,313,199 Shares in issue.

It is expected that the proceeds of the Tender Offer will be paid to Shareholders who validly tendered Shares during the week commencing 20 June 2011.

Jonathan Carr, Chairman of the Company, commented:

"We are delighted that the Tender Offer has been successful in providing an exit from the Company for those shareholders who so wished and that all of the tendered shares available for third party investors have been successfully placed. We are pleased to welcome a number of new shareholders to the Company."