Nanoco to return £33m of Samsung settlement to shareholders
Nanoco is to use £33m from the proceeds from its successful litigation against Samsung to buy up its own shares.
Nanoco’s board is to conduct a Tender Offer to return up to £30m to shareholders and return a further £3m by way of an on-market share buyback.
The Tender Offer is being made at a fixed price of 24 pence per Ordinary Share, a 25.1% premium on Friday’s closing price (8 March 2024) closing price.
Christopher Richards, Non-Executive Chairman of Nanoco, said: “Over the last five years, Nanoco has been transformed from an R&D first mover facing going concern challenges to a commercial manufacturer of nanomaterials, with a growing range of leading nanomaterials and a validated IP portfolio supported by the strongest commercial and financial position in its history.
“Today Nanoco is announcing an exceptional and significant return of capital to shareholders, while retaining and investing funds to support delivery of further value from commercial prospects and enhance our future growth and margin profile. With growing opportunities and a fully funded commercial business, we are confident in enhancing shareholder value over the medium and long term.”
Nanoco is a Manchester University spin-out which develops materials used in the manufacture of monitors and TV screens and technologies for medical imaging and the early diagnosis of cancer.
Last year it won a long-running legal battle with electronics giant, Samsung, in which it was awarded $150m. It pledged to use $90m to fund future growth and has always pledged to return a sum to shareholders.
Following the completion of the £33.0 million return of capital, and after allowing for the repayment of the Group’s outstanding debt of approximately £5 million and remaining cash reserves from the first tranche of litigation proceeds, Nanoco expects to have approximately £23 million of cash available to support the commercial business.
It intends to invest in production capability, R&D projects focused on developing new second and further generation sensing materials and expanding the Runcorn facility to make wafer scale sensing devices to enhance business development and analytical services.
