University fund pockets £10m from Nanoco share sales
A PENSION scheme for university staff has raised around £10.5m by selling shares in the pioneering nanotechnology firm Nanoco.
In a series of trades the Universities Superannuation Scheme has sold off 6.6 million shares in the Manchester business during a three week period when the value of the shares ranged from 130-185p.
The firm, which was established in 2001 to commercialise research from the University of Manchester and Imperial College, London, has seen its value rocket since the end of January when it announced a major deal with The Dow Chemical Company.
The shares are now worth 182p, up from around 55p a year ago and the company has a market value of £376m.
The pension fund, based in Liverpool but representing staff across the UK, still holds 8.1 million shares, or just under 4% of the company.
Nanoco makes quantum dots – tiny fluorescent particles of semiconductor material which have the ability to emit light. They are in demand by the makers of electronic goods because they consume less power than existing systems, and Nanoco’s dots are cadmium free.
It has agreed to licence the technology to Dow subsidiary, Dow Electronic Materials, which will have the right to make and sell the dots for LCD displays.
