RICHARD Linklater’s acclaimed movie ‘Boyhood’ contains many great lines, offering some truly universal pearls of wisdom.

While the exasperated declaration about acquiring and getting rid of possessions from Olivia Evans (Patricia Arquette) might be the highlight on this front, a line from this character’s mother also grabbed the attention when watching the film on a long-haul flight. The mother says to the new wife of Olivia Evans’ former husband, Mason Evans Sr (Ethan Hawke): “You got him at a good time.”

It was the type of aside that might have been missed when viewing the film at home. But there is nothing quite like a long-haul flight, free from the endless distractions of modern-day life, in terms of an opportunity to take a step back and immerse yourself in something.

The line came back to mind as Lord Rothschild’s RIT Capital Partners walked away from making an offer for Dundee-based Alliance Trust this week.

The Scottish corporate landscape has, over the decades, featured plenty of instances where buyers from elsewhere have been able to acquire venerable companies on good terms in large part because these bid targets have been having some kind of short or medium-term challenges. One example from recent years which sprang to mind was Spanish group Iberdrola’s takeover of Glasgow-based electricity and gas company ScottishPower in 2007.

ScottishPower had not exactly covered itself in glory with its post-privatisation acquisitions of Southern Water and US company PacifiCorp, and there had been plenty of boardroom drama. While Iberdrola has been a relatively good overseas owner, the takeover saw one of Scotland’s biggest companies lose its independence. In such cases, bidders have certainly got Scottish companies at the “right time” for them. From a Scottish viewpoint, given the importance of having major corporate headquarters, the timing has been unfortunate.

As with many aspects of life, for all the planning which might be done, the big things in the corporate world come down as much to short-term circumstance and timing as anything else. Publicly-quoted Scottish companies, like those anywhere, will obviously be more vulnerable to takeover bids when they are going through challenging times.

When news of RIT Capital Partners’ potential interest in the £3.4 billion Alliance Trust emerged late last month, it looked like circumstance and timing could see another venerable Scottish company losing its independence.

Alliance has been through plenty of turmoil in recent times, following years of at best pedestrian investment performance. Arbitrageur Elliott Advisors, after building a sizeable stake, has proved the catalyst for sweeping boardroom changes and significant restructuring at Alliance.

It has not been an easy time for Alliance. However, there now appears to be an opportunity for a return to corporate stability, with boardroom veteran Lord Smith of Kelvin having been appointed as chairman.

It is important to realise that difficult times for companies usually pass.

Glasgow-based engineer Weir Group was, when its share price was low in 1999, the subject of an opportunistic bid from US company Flowserve. This failed to gain any traction.

Weir Group has in the intervening years made plenty of acquisitions itself, and enjoyed huge growth and success.

With Weir’s share price having fallen quite sharply amid challenges in its key oil and gas, and mining markets in recent times, speculation that the company could be subject to a takeover bid emerges from time to time. Thankfully, given the importance of an independent Weir in the context of the overall strength of corporate Scotland, nothing has come to pass on this front. Weir is a much, much bigger company than when Flowserve came knocking.

Alliance will have had plenty of ups and downs over its 128 years, not least from stock market boom and bust.

It would be a great pity to see it disappear as an independent entity, or diminished by having its investment management outsourced to a third party, just because of a period of dull performance and an arbitrageur.

It appears almost certain there will be further change of some kind at Alliance, given the initial news of RIT’s interest was followed quickly by the Dundee investment trust’s revelation that it had launched a strategic review.

You would imagine Alliance might be mulling the various share buy-back or tender offer options which might get Elliott to leave, while ensuring all shareholders are treated equally.

As for its longer-term future, Alliance should reflect on its history.

Some of its fund management operation has shifted to London. It is easy to long for the good old days at Alliance, when it made a point of keeping itself at a distance from all the noise in the City of London.

This sentiment is not being expressed as the longstanding holder of a modest number of shares in Alliance, with this stake very much parked for reasons which have nothing to do with the trust’s performance or value. It is expressed as a business journalist who spoke with former top brass at Alliance such as Gavin Suggett and Alan Young.

Running an investment trust from Dundee, rather than London, has benefits similar to those of a long-haul flight in terms of being able to take a mental step back and see the big picture.

Reflection on big issues and changing times, in terms of technology and seismic shifts on the world economic stage, appears to be a key ingredient of the success of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust co-managers James Anderson and Tom Slater.

For the sake of Dundee and the Scottish economy, hopefully Alliance can, after all the recent turbulence, get rid of any troublesome emotional baggage and again enjoy good times.