REG-Invesco Global Equity Income Trust Plc: Publication of Circular

Invesco Global Equity Income TrustAnnouncement

21/01/2026 07:00

21 January 2026

INVESCO GLOBAL EQUITY INCOME TRUST PLC

LEI: 549300JZQ39WJPD7U596

 

Publication of Circular

Further to the announcement on 13 November 2025, the Board is pleased to
confirm that Invesco Global Equity Income Trust plc ("IGET" or the "Company")
has today published a circular (the "Circular") regarding the proposed Merger
with Franklin Global Trust plc ("FRGT"). IGET will be the continuing company
following the Merger.

Under the terms of the Merger, FRGT Shareholders will have the option of
rolling over their investment in FRGT into IGET, receiving cash or a
combination of the two. IGET will issue New Shares to FRGT Shareholders
electing for the Rollover Option, and IGET will receive, in exchange, assets
from FRGT to the same value.

All defined terms used herein shall have the meanings given to them in the
Circular.

Benefits of the Merger

The Board recognise the benefits of increased scale to the Company and
Shareholders and has been looking for corporate opportunities to grow the
Company. The Merger allows the Company to increase significantly in size, with
net assets of around £465 million (compared to around £290 million today)
(depending on cash elections by FRGT Shareholders) and bring in an attractive
and long-term base of new investors.

The Board believes this will benefit Shareholders as follows:
*                        With greater scale, the Enlarged Company is expected
to appeal to a broader range of investors, which should create additional
demand for its Shares, and result in higher trading volumes and market
liquidity, compared to IGET historically.                     
*                        Shareholders will also benefit from the increase in
IGET's size through a reduction in the blended rate of the investment
management fee payable to Invesco and by spreading its fixed costs over a
larger asset base, resulting in a lower ongoing charges ratio.                
    
*                        FRGT Shareholders who do not wish to be invested in
IGET are able to realise their investment in FRGT by electing for the Cash
Option, which your Board believes will reduce the risk of a stock overhang in
the Shares, and resultant potential downward pressure on the Share price, as a
consequence of the Merger.
Invesco has agreed to make a significant contribution towards the costs of the
Merger equivalent to twelve months' management fee on the value of the assets
to be transferred from FRGT to the Company. This should benefit Existing
Shareholders as it is expected to cover or exceed the Company's costs of
implementing the Merger. FRGT will bear its own costs.

The Board considers the Merger to be an exciting opportunity for the Company
to grow in a low-risk manner. The investment mandates of the Company and FRGT
are similar, with both companies offering a well-diversified portfolio of
global equities with a high conviction investment approach and can be a core
holding in an investment portfolio. After the Merger is completed, the
Enlarged Company will continue to operate with the same investment mandate,
investment management arrangements and operational procedures currently in
place for IGET. Specifically, the Enlarged Company will continue with IGET's
distinct and multi-award-winning investment strategy under the management of
Stephen Anness and Joe Dowling at Invesco, with the assets transferred from
FRGT being invested in accordance with that strategy.

Sue Inglis, Chair, said:                        "The last 20 months have been
transformational for IGET. Since the restructuring in May 2024, the share
price has moved from a discount of -13.0% to consistently trading at a premium
to NAV and net assets have increased by c.47% to c.£290m through a
combination of strong performance and frequent share issuance.

The merger with Franklin Global Trust is another major development, with IGET
as the continuing, but substantially larger and more liquid, company.         
                                                      There will be no
changes to IGET's distinct and multi-award-winning investment strategy, which
has proven to be scalable. Therefore, the significant increase in IGET's size
following the merger is not expected to compromise its ability to continue to
deliver strong performance over the long-term."

Implementing the Proposals

The Merger is conditional on, amongst other things, Shareholders approving the
issue of the New Shares. The Board are also seeking Shareholder approval to
renew the Company's Share issuance and buy-back authorities, last renewed at
the 2025 AGM, to reflect the considerably larger issued share capital of the
Enlarged Company following completion of the Merger.

The Circular will shortly be available on the Company website,                
                
https://www.invesco.com/uk/en/investment-trusts/invesco-global-equity-income-trust.html
                               and will be filed and available for inspection
at the National Storage Mechanism,                                 
https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism                        
      .

Invesco Explainer Document

Following the introduction of new rules on 19 January 2026, the Company is not
required to publish a prospectus in connection with the Merger.              
       Invesco has prepared an explainer document which provides a summary of
the proposals for the benefit of FRGT Shareholders, which is available at     
                           
https://www.invesco.com/content/dam/invesco/uk/en/product-documents/investment-trust/fund/other-documents/invesco-global-equity-income-trust-plc_explainer-document_en-uk.pdf

Live Webinar

Stephen Anness, IGET's lead fund manager and Invesco's Head of Global
Equities, will be participating in a live webinar, hosted by Invesco, on 27
January 2026 at 14.30 GMT. To register your attendance please visit           
                      https://digital.invesco.com/IGET/Webinar                
              . Stephen will share how his team's flexible, high-conviction
stock-picking approach continues to uncover compelling opportunities across
the world's equity markets.

Expected Timetable

                                                                                                                                                                                                 2026                                                                                                                                                                                              
 Latest time and date for receipt of proxy votes (cast using the Form of Proxy, electronically or otherwise) for the General Meeting (note: investor platforms may have earlier deadlines)       11:00 a.m. on 16 February                                                                                                                                                                         
 General Meeting                                                                                                                                                                                 11:00 a.m. on 18 February                                                                                                                                                                         
 Announcement of results of the General Meeting                                                                                                                                                  18 February                                                                                                                                                                                       
 Calculation Date for value attributable under the Scheme                                                                                                                                        5.00 p.m. on 20 February                                                                                                                                                                          
 Announcement of the results of the Scheme, including the number of New Shares to be issued                                                                                                      27 February                                                                                                                                                                                       
 Effective Date for implementation of the Scheme                                                                                                                                                 27 February                                                                                                                                                                                       
 Dealings commence in the New Shares    CREST accounts credited with New Shares    Certificates despatched in respect of New Shares                                                              on or soon after 8.00 a.m. on 2 March  As soon as reasonably practical on 2 March  not later than 10 Business Days from the Effective Date                                                        
 Note  :  All references to time in this document are to UK time. Each of the times and dates in the above expected timetable (other than in relation to the receipt of proxy votes and General Meeting) may be extended or brought forward. If any of the above times and/or dates change, the revised time(s) and/or date(s) will be notified to Shareholders through an RIS announcement.       

 

Enquiries:

 Invesco Global Equity Income Trust plc   Sue  Inglis, Chair                                                                                                                         Via Invesco Asset Management Limited  
 Invesco Fund Managers Limited   (Manager, IGET)  Will Ellis/John Armstrong-Denby                                                                                                    020 7543 3500                         
 Invesco Asset Management Limited   (Company Secretary, IGET)  James  Poole                                                                                                          020 7543 3559                         
 Cavendish   (Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker to IGET)  Robert Peel, Oscar Valeur-Adu |  Corporate Finance   Justin Zawoda-Martin, Daniel Balabanoff, Pauline Tribe |  Sales  020 7220 0572                         

 



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