Shareholders Reject Every One of Saba's Proposals to Terminate BlackRock as Adviser and Support the Board's Nominees in Preliminary Voting Results of 2024 Annual Meetings
BlackRock Advisors, LLC ("BlackRock") announced today that BlackRock will remain in place as investment adviser at five closed-end funds where dissident shareholder, Saba Capital Management, L.P. ("Saba"), had put forth a termination proposal, and the current Board members will continue to steward the eight funds where Saba had proposed nominees, according to the preliminary voting results of the 2024 Annual Meetings of Shareholders (the "Annual Meetings") of the following funds:
- BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust (NYSE: BCAT)
- BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust (NYSE: BFZ)
- BlackRock Innovation and Growth Term Trust (NYSE: BIGZ)
- BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE: BMEZ)
- BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust (NYSE: ECAT)
- BlackRock MuniHoldings New York Quality Fund, Inc. (NYSE: MHN)
- BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund (NYSE: MPA)
- BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund, Inc. (NYSE: MYN)
"Shareholders rejected Saba's efforts to unseat BlackRock as investment adviser and voted to support the Board's nominees at several funds. For the second year in a row, Saba has failed to convince shareholders that Saba will deliver more value than the funds' current stewardship and management teams," said R. Glenn Hubbard, Chair of the Boards of BlackRock Closed-End Funds.
"We continue to believe that the governance of closed-end funds, in comparison to operating companies, is fundamentally different and requires specific protections against assembly-line activism. These proxy campaigns have illustrated just how vulnerable closed-end funds are to a single, vocal, deep-pocketed activist, whose point of view on the funds' strategies and governance does not align with other shareholders and their investment objectives. The majority of votes for Saba's proposals and nominees came from Saba's own shares. Unfortunately, Saba continues to attempt to buy enough votes to drown out the voices of tens of thousands of individual investors who have again rejected their self-serving agenda," added Hubbard.
Shareholders Demonstrated Strong Support for BlackRock and the Board's Nominees
- Saba's attempt to terminate BlackRock as manager of five funds failed.
- At MPA, the full Board defeated Saba, with all of the Board's nominees receiving more votes than any Saba nominee.
- At BFZ, the Board's nominees were elected over Saba's nominees for the second consecutive year, and Saba's proposal to terminate BlackRock as investment advisor of the fund failed.
- At MHN and MYN, the Board's nominees received almost twice as many votes as Saba's nominees.
Saba Received Little Support Beyond Their Own Votes
When Saba's votes are excluded, the results show little shareholder support for Saba. Across all termination and director proposals, individual investors and institutions alike voted overwhelmingly with BlackRock.
Termination Proposals
- At the three biggest funds, BCAT, BIGZ and ECAT, less than 5% of shares outstanding were voted with Saba for termination, with approximately 3% of shares outstanding voting with Saba at ECAT.
- At BFZ and BMEZ, less than 10% of shares outstanding were voted with Saba for termination, with only 6% of shares outstanding voting with Saba at BMEZ.
Board Nominees
- At all funds, less than 11% of shares outstanding were voted with Saba in favor of Saba's nominees.
- At BCAT, the Board's nominees received more than 20 times as many votes as Saba's nominees.
- At MPA, the Board's nominees received 10 times as many votes as Saba's nominees.
- At BMEZ and MYN, the Board's nominees received nearly five times as many votes as Saba's nominees.
- At BFZ and MHN, the Board's nominees received approximately three times as many votes as Saba's nominees.
- At BIGZ and ECAT, some Board nominees received nearly twice as many votes, while others received seven times as many votes as Saba's nominees.
The preliminary vote count is subject to final certification by the independent inspector of elections. The final vote results will be included in the funds' next annual or semi-annual report to shareholders, as applicable.
The 2024 Annual Meetings of Shareholders of BlackRock New York Municipal Income Trust (NYSE: BNY) and BlackRock Science and Technology Term Trust (NYSE: BSTZ) have each been adjourned until July 16, 2024, due to lack of quorum and to allow shareholders additional time to vote.
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