Royce Closed-End Funds Announce That Franklin Resources, Inc. Is To Acquire Legg Mason, Inc.

NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 18, 2020, Franklin Resources, Inc. ("Franklin Resources") and Legg Mason, Inc. ("Legg Mason") announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Franklin Resources to acquire Legg Mason.

Royce Investment Partners ("Royce"), the investment advisor for each Fund, is currently an indirect subsidiary of Legg Mason. As part of this transaction, Royce would become an indirect subsidiary of Franklin Resources. The transaction is subject to approval by Legg Mason's shareholders and the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions, including the receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals. Subject to the satisfaction of such conditions and the receipt of such approvals, the transaction is expected to be consummated later this year.

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, consummation of the transaction will result in the automatic termination of each Fund's investment advisory agreement with Royce. Therefore, the Board of Directors of each of Royce Value Trust, Royce Micro-Cap Trust, and Royce Global Value Trust (the "Boards") will be asked to approve a new investment advisory agreement with Royce for each Fund. If approved by the Boards, the new investment advisory agreements for the Funds will be presented to their respective stockholders for approval.

Royce Value Trust, Royce Micro-Cap Trust, and Royce Global Value Trust is each a closed-end diversified management investment company whose shares of Common Stock (RVT, RMT, and RGT, respectively) are listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Each Fund's primary investment goal is long-term capital growth. RVT seeks this goal by investing at least 65% of its assets in equity securities primarily of small- and micro-cap companies. RMT seeks this goal by investing primarily in equity securities of companies that, at the time of investment, have market capitalization of $1 billion or less. Under normal market circumstances, RGT invests primarily in equity securities of U.S. and non-U.S. small- and mid-cap companies (generally market caps up to $10 billion) using a core approach.

Daily net asset values (NAVs) for all three of Royce's closed-end funds are available at royceinvest.com and elsewhere online through most ticker symbol lookup services and on broker terminals under the symbols XRVTX, XOTCX, and XRGTX. For more information, please call The Royce Funds at (800) 221-4268. An investor in any of the three Funds should consider its respective investment goals, risks, fees, and expenses carefully before investing.

Important Disclosure Information
Closed-End Funds are registered investment companies whose shares of common stock may trade at a discount to their net asset value. Shares of each Fund's common stock are also subject to the market risks of investing in the underlying portfolio securities held by the Fund.

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SOURCE Royce Investment Partners