Rothschild climbs down from Alliance Trust interest

Jacob Rothschild’s investment vehicle RIT Capital Partners is no longer interested in acquiring Alliance Trust, it was revealed on Tuesday.

The news came a week after Alliance confirmed to the market that it has been approached by RIT.

“Following careful analysis and constructive discussions with representatives of Alliance Trust, RIT has concluded that it would not be in the best interests of its shareholders to make an offer for Alliance Trust,” Rothschild Investment Trust Capital Partners said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Accordingly [RIT] announces that it does not intend to make an offer to acquire Alliance Trust.”

If the two well-known UK investment trusts were combined, it would have created an organisation worth upwards of £5bn.

Last year, RIT revealed it held a stake of Alliance Trust, before Alliance said in a statement last week that RIT had approached its board with an informal merger proposal.

“No detailed terms have been provided,” it clarified at the time.

Investor campaigns have been the theme of relations at Alliance in recent years, with the board receiving a makeover in November at the behest of activist hedge fund Elliott.