1st Aug 2006 07:12
IP Group PLC01 August 2006 IP Group subscribes for shares in COE Group Placing ("IP Group" or the "Company") IP Group plc (code: IPO), the intellectual property commercialisation company,is pleased to announce that it is investing £500,000 by subscribing for6,250,000 new ordinary shares in COE Group plc ("COE") as part of a placing of11,875,000 ordinary shares at eight pence per share announced by COE today ("thePlacing"). The Placing will raise £950,000 (before expenses) for COE. ThePlacing represents a discount of 38.5% to the closing mid-market price of COE of13 pence on 31 July 2006. Following the Placing, and subject to COE shareholders approving the whitewashof IP Group and Richard Farleigh (two of the placees) on 24 August 2006, IPGroup and Richard Farleigh will own 61.0% of COE's enlarged share capital.Richard Farleigh is one of IP Group's key business angels who has backed over 50early stage technology companies including Wolfson Microelectronics plc, ARCInternational plc, Amino Technologies plc, ANT plc, Celoxica Holdings plc,Oxonica plc and Clearspeed Technology plc. With a 16 year track record of innovation in video surveillance, COE hasdeveloped a portfolio of rugged products for camera control, video transmission,scene analysis, operator display and recording which interface with most majorthird party systems. These systems are designed to work reliably in extremeenvironments for many years. The company also provides services including systemdesign, on-site test, commissioning and long-term maintenance. COE sells throughregional and global systems integrators such as Siemens, Alcatel and SingaporeTechnologies, and through an extensive network of Value Added Resellers. At 30June 2005, the value of COE's gross assets (net of deposits and loan notes) were£3.6 million and the losses attributable to those assets in the year ended 30June 2005 were £1.0 million. The Directors of IP Group believe that the digital surveillance market is agrowth industry and that this transaction will benefit IP Group's partners byoffering complementary technologies an alternative route to market whilesimultaneously offering synergies with certain IP Group technologies andportfolio companies. IP Group and Richard Farleigh have confirmed that, following Admission, theyintend that the business of COE will continue in substantially the same form asit does currently. However, both parties believe that they will be able toassist COE to exploit synergies which have been identified between COE andcompanies within the IP Group portfolio, to pursue a strategy of organic profitgrowth through existing sales channels as well as strengthen the range ofproducts through appropriate corporate acquisitions. Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: "This is the first time in IPGroup's history that it has made a direct investment into another quotedcompany, and it is consistent with our strategy of investing in interestingtechnology companies where we see excellent opportunities and significant marketgrowth. We are extremely excited by the growth prospects for COE and areparticularly impressed with its international reputation for complex videosurveillance systems in demanding environments - something that has potentialoperational and financial synergies with certain companies and technologieswithin the IP Group portfolio. COE's management has made excellent progress inthe last few years and we are very much looking forward to working with them." Andrew Wallace, Chief Executive of COE Group, said: "We are delighted that IPGroup sees the potential growth in COE. This transaction is a major endorsementof COE's technology and its prospects while providing important financing forCOE to fund expansion and further exploit our products. IP Group's extensiveportfolio of core technologies, several of which have applications in thesurveillance and counter-terrorism markets, provides COE with excellenttechnology sources for addressing customers' needs. We also plan to use IPGroup's extensive resources to help COE become a consolidator in the swiftlyevolving surveillance and security markets." For further information about IP Group plc, please contact: IP Group plc 020 7489 5200 Magnus Goodlad (Executive Director) Liz Vaughan-Adams (communications) 020 74895206/07979 853802 Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000 Mark Court, Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson COE Group Andrew Wallace 0113 230 8800 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 eight 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 and Queen Mary, University of London. As at 13 June 2006, 42 spin-out companies had been created among the group'suniversity partners. Of those, seven have listed on the AiM market of the LondonStock Exchange and there has been one trade sale. For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com About COE COE is a leading developer and exporter of advanced video surveillance (CCTV)systems with a global installed base of large safety-critical systems, many inextreme environments. COE focuses on three sectors - traffic & transport,city-centre surveillance and industrial complexes. Traffic and transportreferences include the London Congestion Charge, the underground rail systems inFrance, Singapore, Hong Kong & Delhi, high-speed rail systems in Spain, Germanyand the UK, airports across Germany, Hong Kong and SE Asia and road systemsworldwide. City-centre systems include over 35 UK towns and cities whileindustrial complexes include the South Pars gas field in the Middle East. www.coe.co.uk ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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