Universal-Investment and New York based hedge fund specialist York Asset Management have launched a new absolute return fund in collaboration: The York Lion Merger Arbitrage Liquidity Fund UI, based upon “The Lion Fund Limited”, which is the first global merger arbitrage strategy as a UCITS fund in Europe.

The York Lion Merger Arbitrage Liquidity Fund UI globally invests in daily tradable securities in both established and emerging markets. It aims at arbitrages which occur due to mergers and takeovers as well as other ’event driven’ situations.

“With our investment method we distinguish between seven different types of situations“, says Nick Walker, Chief Investment Officer of York Asset Management and manager to the fund. “These types range from the launch of a ’SPAC’ to a friendly or a hostile takeover up to discount trades in the sequence of litigations.”

“We are proud to launch the first European UCITS fund with a global merger arbitrage strategy”, says Bernd Vorbeck, spokesman of Universal-Investments management board. “The York Lion Merger Arbitrage Liquidity Fund UI is a great enrichment for UI-Newcits, Universal-Investments platform for the new funds generation of so called Newcits funds”, says Vorbeck. Using liquid alternative investment strategies, these newcits funds fall under the strict regime of European UCITS III regulation. Recently started, UI-Newcits contains already 9 funds with more than one billion Euros under administration.