NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 March 2020
NANOCO GROUP PLC
("Nanoco", the "Group", or the "Company")
Licence Partner Update
Nanoco Group plc (LSE: NANO), a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other specific nanomaterials emanating from our technology platform, announces the following update on its licence agreement with Merck Gmbh ("Merck").
Merck have indicated their intention to negotiate a new supply and licensing agreement to replace the existing one which was signed on 29 July 2016. That licence was an evergreen agreement that renewed automatically every year and had escalating minimum annual royalties that were payable unless terminated. Merck have chosen to issue a three month notice of termination of the existing licence while renegotiations take place. Merck and Nanoco continue to work closely to find a mutually acceptable agreement.
During this time Merck continue to place additional purchase orders with Nanoco for small scale R&D services and CFQD product for display applications while the renegotiation takes place. The minimum annual licence fee of €0.5m for the contract year ending 30 June 2020 will still be payable and no previously forecast income or cash has been lost as a result of this decision by Merck.
The Company is continuing to review its strategic options including, but not limited to, a potential sale of the Company through a formal sale process as announced on 5 November and will make a further announcement in due course.
Michael Edelman, Chief Executive of Nanoco, said:
"We continue to work collaboratively with Merck and we had based our plans and forecasts on the risk of this renegotiation occurring. While we continue to actively engage with Merck to find a new basis for long term co-operation we will continue to supply them with paid for R&D services and CFQD product."
- Ends -
For further information, please contact:
Nanoco |
Tel: +44 (0) 161 603 7900 |
Brian Tenner, Chief Financial Officer |
|
Caroline Watson, Investor Relations Manager |
Tel: + 44 (0) 7799 897357 |
[email protected] |
|
MHP Communications Reg Hoare / Giles Robinson / Pete Lambie [email protected] |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3128 8570 |
In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, a copy of this announcement will, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions, be available at www.nanocotechnologies.com/investor-relations/. The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Nanoco is Brian Tenner, Chief Financial Officer. For the avoidance of doubt, the content of the website referred to above is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.
This announcement is not an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the Code and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made. Any offer (if made) will be made solely by certain offer documentation, which will contain the full terms and conditions of any offer (if made), including details of how such offer may be accepted. This announcement has been prepared in accordance with English law and the Code, and information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been prepared in accordance with laws outside of the United Kingdom. The release, distribution or publication of this announcement in jurisdictions outside of the United Kingdom may be restricted by laws of the relevant jurisdictions, and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and observe, any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with the restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction.
MAR
The information contained within this announcement is considered by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information will be considered to be in the public domain.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this announcement), oral statements made regarding the formal sale process, and other information published by Nanoco may contain statements about Nanoco that are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Such statements are prospective in nature. All statements other than historical statements of facts may be forward looking statements. Without limitation, statements containing the words "targets", "plans", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "estimates", "projects" or "considers" or other similar words may be forward looking statements.
Forward looking statements inherently contain risks and uncertainties as they relate to events or circumstances in the future. Important factors such as business or economic cycles, the terms and conditions of Nanoco's financing arrangements, tax rates, or increased competition may cause Nanoco's actual financial results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any forward looking statements. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Nanoco disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking or other statements contained herein, except as required by applicable law.
Notes for editors:
About Nanoco Group plc
Nanoco (LSE: NANO) harnesses the power of nano-materials. Nano-materials are materials with dimensions typically in the range 1 - 100 nm. Nano-materials have a range of useful properties, including optical and electronic. Quantum dots are a subclass of nano-material that have size-dependent optical and electronic properties. The Group produces quantum dots. Within the sphere of quantum dots, the Group exploits different characteristics of the quantum dots to target different performance criteria that are attractive to specific markets or end-user applications such as the Display and Electronics markets. One of the interesting properties of quantum dots is photoluminescence: the emission of longer wavelength light upon excitation by light of a shorter wavelength. The colour of light emitted depends on the particle size. Nanoco's CFQD® quantum dots are free of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals, and can be tuned to emit light at different wavelengths across the visible and infrared spectrum, rendering them useful for a wide range of applications including displays, lighting and biological imaging.
Nanoco has non-exclusive manufacturing and marketing licensing agreements in display with The Dow Chemical Company, Merck KGaA of Germany and Wah Hong Industrial Corporation of Taiwan.
Nanoco was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with a US subsidiary, Nanoco Inc., in Concord, MA. Nanoco continues to build out a world-class, patent-protected IP portfolio generated both by its own innovation engine, as well as through acquisition.
Nanoco is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker symbol NANO. For further information please visit: www.nanocogroup.com.
