IP Group plc – Portfolio company Oxford Nanopore announces GBP70m fundraising

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) (“IP Group” or “the Group”), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, is pleased to note that its portfolio company, Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited (“Oxford Nanopore” or “the Company”), has raised GBP70.0 million in a new financing round via a private placement of ordinary shares.

Oxford Nanopore, a spin-out company from the University of Oxford specialising in nanopore-based electronic molecular analysis systems, recently commented that its handheld MinION device is commercially available and registration has opened for its PromethION Early Access Programme (PEAP). PromethION is a standalone device, which offers the nanopore sensing technology of MinION but enables higher throughput and sample numbers.

Both new and existing investors in the UK, US and mainland Europe subscribed to the fundraising to support the Company’s development and commercialisation of electronic molecular analysis systems. Funds will be used to support improvements to Oxford Nanopore’s existing range of products and services and to further develop and expand the Company’s innovative pipeline. Manufacturing and commercial activities will be expanded.

Following completion of the financing round, IP Group’s undiluted beneficial stake of 19.9% in Oxford Nanopore will be valued at GBP192.9 million, representing an unrealised fair value gain to the Group of GBP50.3 million. IP Group has committed a further GBP13.9 million to Oxford Nanopore as part of this funding round.

This transaction brings the total funds raised by Oxford Nanopore since its formation in 2005 to  GBP251.0 million.

Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: “IP Group has been proud to support Oxford Nanopore since the Company’s formation ten years ago. The Company has made excellent technical and commercial progress and the significant developments announced at its recent London Calling nanopore-sensing conference further reinforce our confidence in the Company’s technology. I would like to congratulate the Oxford Nanopore team for all of their successes so far and we look forward to working with them as they seek to achieve their goal of making nanopore-sensing valuable, integral and available to anyone with a question about a living thing.”