Why is the Board proposing the Transaction?

EAI has had a persistent discount to NTA and limited liquidity due to the inherent structure of listed investment companies.  The Board's main objective is to reduce the discount to the value of the Company's net tangible assets. A key way to achieve this is by improving liquidity through a mechanism that can access the liquidity of the Manager's portfolio more directly. In the past, the Board has implemented strategies to inform market participants of the Company's net tangible assets value however the Company, like most other listed investment companies, continues to trade at an undesirable discount to net tangible assets. 

As the purpose of the transaction is to provide liquidity to EAI’s current shareholder base, the proposed dual access structure provides optionality to shareholders who can transact on or off market to suit their needs at or closer to NTA.  Shareholder optionality to redeem at NTA is enhanced under the dual access structure because it allows the investor an element of choice in the costs ( both direct and indirect) payable in transacting on market via brokerage or by paying a buy/sell spread at the registry. Subject to market conditions at the time of redemption, either the AQUA or registry options to redeem may be pursued resulting in a more cost effective solution to access liquidity in their investment.