In a stock exchange notice on Thursday (12 October), EOT said it will issue a tender offer for 25% of its share capital if performance is not equal or exceeds the MSCI Europe index TR's total return from 1 June 2023.
The tender offer will be priced at the prevailing net asset value at the time of repurchase - adjusted for the costs associated with the tender offer - less 2%.
The proposal comes ahead of the trust's continuation vote at its annual general meeting on 15 November. The conditional tender offer proposal will also be voted on at the meeting, as well as at the 2026 AGM.
DFMs eye investment trust opportunities amid wide discounts
The board currently has an active discount management policy, aiming to reduce discount volatility and maintain the discount in single digits in normal market conditions, and added that the conditional tender offer would not change this approach.
EOT currently sits on a 10.3% discount, according to data from the Association of Investment Companies. It has returned 13.2% over the last three years, compared to a Europe AIC sector average of 15.4%.
In a research note, Peel Hunt analyst Thomas Pocock said: "While continuation votes rarely result in the winding-up of a company, a potentially challenging vote may see boards take proactive, shareholder-friendly actions ahead of a shareholder meeting such as we have seen today with EOT's implementation of a conditional tender offer."