Morrison Foerster (MoFo) has advised Witan Investment Trust plc on the novation of £155 million of its secured notes to institutional investors in connection with the combination of Alliance Trust PLC (LON: ATST) and Witan Investment Trust to form Alliance Witan PLC.
Established in 1888 and 1909, respectively, Alliance and Witan are two of the UK’s most established investment trusts. The combined entity will have net assets of approximately£5 billion with the prospect of inclusion in the FTSE 100 Index. The novated 3.29% secured notes due in 2035, 3.47% secured notes due in 2045, 2.39% secured notes due in 2051 and 2.74% secured notes due in 2054, will allow Alliance Witan to continue to benefit from long term low-cost borrowing in line with its gearing policy. The successful collaboration with institutional investors was achieved through amended and restated note purchase agreements and new floating charges granted by Alliance Witan.
The MoFo team was led by Corporate partner Scott Ashton and associate Amelia Cheng, and included co-chair of MoFo’s Investment Management group Kelley Howes, Tax partner Trevor James, Financial Services partner Barbara Mendelson, Capital Markets senior of counsel Brian Bates, and Corporate senior of counsel Henry Fields.
