Henderson European Trust to wind up and merge with Fidelity European

LONDON - Henderson European Trust plc (HET) announced Thursday the publication of a circular outlining proposals for its voluntary winding-up and combination with Fidelity European Trust PLC (LON:FEV), creating what would become the largest European-focused investment trust with assets exceeding £2.1 billion.

The proposed transaction follows the resignation of both co-portfolio managers from Janus Henderson Investors in January 2025, which prompted the board to conduct a comprehensive review of options for the company’s future.

Under the scheme, shareholders will be entitled to elect to receive either new FEV shares or cash for some or all of their holdings. The cash option is limited to 33.3% of the total shares in issue and will be offered at a 1.75% discount to the residual formula asset value. Shareholders making no election will automatically receive new FEV shares.

The combined entity will be managed by Fidelity’s co-portfolio managers Sam Morse and Marcel Stötzel, whose investment approach focuses on high-quality, predominantly large-cap European equities with good prospects for cash generation and dividend growth.

"We are confident that the combination with Fidelity European Trust is highly compelling for Shareholders," said Vicky Hastings, Chair of HET. She highlighted expected benefits including "unparallelled scale and enhanced liquidity, a ’best-in-class’ investment team which will provide continuity of investment style, and one of the narrowest discounts to net asset value in the sector."

Fidelity has agreed to contribute to transaction costs through a waiver of 12 months of management fees that would otherwise be payable on the transferred assets, with an expected value of approximately £2.4 million.

The HET board has unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favor of the resolutions to be proposed at general meetings scheduled for September 9 and 26, 2025.

The board has also announced a pre-liquidation interim dividend of 3.4 pence per share to be paid on September 19 to shareholders on the register as of September 5.

The information in this article is based on a press release statement from Henderson European Trust plc.

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