17th Nov 2006 07:03
IP Group PLC17 November 2006 For immediate release 17 November 2006 IP Group plc ("IP Group" or the "Company") IP VENTURE FUND MAKES FIRST INVESTMENTS IP Group plc (LSE: IPO), the intellectual property commercialisation company, ispleased to announce that IP Venture Fund (the "Fund"), launched in July 2006,has made its first investments in two spin-out companies from the University ofOxford in which the Company is already a shareholder. The Fund, a new venture capital fund raised in partnership with the EuropeanInvestment Fund, has participated in follow-on fund raisings for Oxford RFSensors Limited ("Oxford RF") and InhibOx Limited ("InhibOx"). Oxford RF has developed novel, highly sensitive, non-contact sensors, which candetect and measure a variety of materials including metals, plastics, gases andliquids. The sensors operate across a wide temperature and frequency range andare highly resilient to dirt, dust and oil contamination. Target markets includefluid condition monitoring, bearing condition monitoring and identification ofplastics for recycling. InhibOx uses novel software to screen large libraries of molecules againsttherapeutic targets in order to predict which molecules are likely to beappropriate candidates for new drugs. This combination of screening software,very large compound libraries and computing power enables InhibOx to undertake arange of drug discovery services and collaborations. IP Venture Fund will commit in the region of 25% of the amount of post-seedfinancings of IP Group portfolio companies alongside capital committed byexternal investors, subject to the terms of the Fund. The Fund was launched inJuly and had a first closing of £15.5 million including a commitment of £1.4million from IP Group. It is expected that the Fund will complete two furtherinvestments within the next two months. Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: "We are delighted that the IPVenture Fund has already completed its first investments and look forward tocontinuing to work with the European Investment Fund to leverage the expertiseof our respective organisations in university intellectual propertycommercialisation." Francis Carpenter, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund, said: "It isessential to extend the pre-seed equity chain through very early stage todevelopment stage and EIF seeks to play a catalytic role in this market. The IPVenture Fund is addressing seed stage needs and it is remarkable that the fundhas already completed its first two investments in such a short period of time." For further information, please contact: IP Group plc 020 7489 5200Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive OfficerLiz Vaughan-Adams (communications) 020 7489 5206 / 07979853802 Buchanan CommunicationsTim Anderson, Mark Court, Mary-Jane Johnson 020 7466 5000 European Investment FundFelicitas Riedl +352 426688 214Delphine Munro (Communications) +352 426688 237 Notes for Editors About IP Group IP Group Plc is an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation company thatspecialises in commercialising university technology. Founded in 2001, IP Grouplisted on AiM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. Ithas made two acquisitions to date - Techtran, a company set up to commercialiseuniversity intellectual property under a long term contract with the Universityof Leeds, in 2005 and Top Technology Ventures, an investment adviser to earlystage technology venture capital funds, in 2004. The group has formed long-term partnerships with ten universities - theUniversity of Oxford, King's College London, CNAP/University of York, theUniversity of Leeds, the University of Bristol, the University of Surrey, theUniversity of Southampton, Queen Mary, University of London, the University ofBath and the University of Glasgow. As at 30 June 2006, 44 spin-out companies had been created among the group'suniversity partners. Of those, eight have listed on the AiM market of the LondonStock Exchange and there have been two trade sales. For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com About the European Investment Fund The European Investment Fund implements EU policies such as innovation, researchand development, entrepreneurship, growth, and job creation, for SMEs. EIF is afund-of-funds in venture and small private equity markets, and is active in SMEsecuritisation and guarantee pools of SME loans. With investments in some 240 funds, EIF is a leading European venture playerespecially in high-tech and early-stage segments, investing pari passu withprivate sector investors, but also in mid-stage and small buy-outs. It operates in close partnership with its shareholders, the EIB (EuropeanInvestment Bank) (61.3%), the European Commission (30%) and financialinstitutions and generates financial returns. EIF is AAA rated. For further information, please contact Delphine Munro, [email protected], orvisit EIF's website www.eif.org. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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