1 Jun 2017 07:00
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, 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 the text of a letter from the Chairman of Touchstone Innovations plc that is being despatched to all shareholders of Touchstone Innovations plc and persons with information rights with respect to Touchstone Innovations plc.
1 June 2017
Touchstone Innovations plc
THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own financial advice immediately from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant, fund manager or other appropriate independent financial adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended ("FSMA") if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriately authorised independent financial adviser.
Chairman's letter to shareholders
Dear Shareholder
On 23rd May 2017, IP Group plc ("IP Group") announced that it had made an approach to the Board of Touchstone Innovations plc ("Touchstone") regarding a possible combination of the two businesses (the "Possible Offer") and that the Board of Touchstone had rejected the proposal. The announcements made on 23rd May 2017 by both IP Group and Touchstone have been circulated to you.
I am writing to explain the chronology of events leading to the rejection and the Directors' reasons for it.
Chronology of events
On 4th April 2017, I received a letter from IP Group setting out the indicative non-binding terms, which implied an at-market combination with no premium to prior day close, on which IP Group would be willing to work towards a recommended all-share merger of Touchstone and IP Group.
Your Board considered the contents of the letter and, on 7th April 2017, unanimously decided to reject the merger proposal and stated that it could not see any basis for further discussions.
However, in the days that followed, it was made clear to the Board that three of our largest shareholders (Invesco Asset Management Limited ("Invesco"), Woodford Investment Management LLP ("Woodford") and Lansdowne Developed Markets Master Fund Ltd ("Lansdowne") (together the "Large Shareholders")) wanted Touchstone to engage with IP Group to see if a merger could be agreed. For this reason, and because the proposal had certain merits, the Board agreed to engage.
Meetings were held, but no real progress was made on two very important issues: first, on the valuation of Touchstone, and second, on the need to retain and build on the best of both companies and to establish a clear understanding of joint strategy, corporate governance and management.
As a consequence, I had a telephone call on 19th May 2017 with Mike Humphrey, Chairman of IP Group. Amongst other things he told me the term 'merger' had been used, but that this was in fact a 'takeover'.
He indicated he had no mandate from his Board or the Large Shareholders to negotiate on either the ratio of the resulting ownership of IP Group between IP Group shareholders and Touchstone shareholders following the Possible Offer (approximately 62% IP Group, 38% Touchstone) or on people (management and directors).
There have been no further discussions between the two companies since this call.
Reasons for the rejection of the IP Group Possible Offer
As part of the discussions with IP Group we raised a number of topics, which we believed would need to be addressed in order for the combination to be capable of being recommended by the Board. These included seeking agreement on strategy, business model and portfolio balance. However, in this letter I will focus on the two that are the most important, in my view, being valuation and people.
First, the Board believed that the terms of the Possible Offer fundamentally undervalued Touchstone on a stand-alone basis.
The Board believed that the terms did not fully reflect:
· the value in Touchstone which has been built up over 10 years;
· the breadth and diversity of its portfolio (some 90% of the value of which lies in unquoted companies);
· its therapeutics assets, which are attracting interest from leading pharmaceutical companies;
· its unique access to opportunities arising from Imperial College London and UCL, as well as close relationships across the 'Golden Triangle';
· its close relationships with major pharmaceutical companies, as evidenced by the Apollo Therapeutics joint venture; and
· its relationships with co-investors and numerous other industry partners.
The Board has full confidence in Touchstone's future as a stand-alone business. We believe that Touchstone has the platform and portfolio to drive overall returns and generate cash over the next five years to deliver self-sustainability.
We strongly believe that the opportunities available to Touchstone shareholders are highly compelling in the stand-alone vehicle, and that dilution of your position on the terms of the Possible Offer would not be in your best interests.
Second, IP Group's Possible Offer was silent as to proposals to retain and build on the best of both companies. Their announcement on 23rd May 2017 states that the combination would create a combined business with substantial capabilities that would be greater than the sum of the two parts. However, these are people-based businesses, not just assets, and in the absence of a plan to retain and build on the best of both companies, the Board believes there is a significant risk of value erosion on both sides.
Over the last 10 years, Touchstone has been able to attract talented employees into its venture investment team, based around the clarity and focus of its positioning. The members of this team are in turn creating a high-quality network of partners, co-investors and entrepreneurs from which Touchstone and its portfolio companies derive significant benefit. It is the collective skills, knowledge and experience that resides in these people that we believe is crucial to future success.
An important test for us was whether the combined organisation was one where our staff, particularly our ventures investment team, would have been attracted to stay. Our belief was that the Possible Offer, which ignores the importance of retention and incentives, risked seeing this team dissipate and, along with it, the associated network of partners, co-investors and entrepreneurs.
Prior to my appointment to the Board of Touchstone as Chairman on 1st August 2016, I carried out my own due diligence, speaking to professional advisers and to Touchstone's largest shareholders, Invesco, Woodford, Imperial College London and Lansdowne.
All were extremely complimentary about Touchstone. The shareholders explained that they rated Touchstone and the team very highly, saying that it was a good organisation with strong governance, and that they considered the investment process to be excellent. Indeed, this is evidenced by the fact that some of these shareholders have invested directly in certain portfolio companies, alongside Touchstone.
Everything I have found in my 10 months as Chairman supports those views.
The concerns surrounding the Possible Offer which I outline above have not been addressed to the satisfaction of the Board and, for these reasons, the Board of Touchstone rejected the Possible Offer.
Yours faithfully
David Newlands
Chairman
Enquiries:
Touchstone Innovations plc
Russ Cummings Tel: +44 20 3727 2030
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
(Financial Adviser and Joint Corporate Broker to Touchstone Innovations plc)
Michael Wentworth-Stanley Tel: +44 20 7742 4000
James Robinson
Alec Pratt
RBC Capital Markets
(Joint Corporate Broker to Touchstone Innovations plc)
Marcus Jackson Tel: +44 20 7653 4000
Instinctif Partners
Adrian Duffield /Melanie Toyne-Sewell/Chantal Woolcock Tel: +44 20 7457 2020
Further Information
J.P. Morgan Limited, which conducts its UK investment banking business as J.P. Morgan Cazenove ("J.P. Morgan Cazenove"), is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority. J.P. Morgan Cazenove is acting as financial adviser exclusively for Touchstone and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Touchstone for providing the protections afforded to clients of J.P. Morgan Cazenove or its affiliates, or for providing advice in relation to any matter referred to herein.
RBC Capital Markets is the business name used by RBC Europe Limited, which is authorised in the United Kingdom by the Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and the PRA and is a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada. RBC is acting as Corporate Broker to the Company.
Forward-looking statements
This announcement (including information incorporated by reference) may contain statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements".
All statements, other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections of the management of Touchstone about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement include statements relating to the expected effects of the transaction and other statements other than historical facts. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "plan", "expect", "budget", "target", "aim", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecast", "intend", "anticipate", "assume", "hope", "continue" or "believe", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks (known and unknown) and uncertainties (and other factors) that could cause actual results to differ materially form those suggested by them. Much of the risk and uncertainty relates to factors that are beyond the relevant companies' or directors' ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions and behaviours of other market participants or changes in tax rates.
Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the announcement. No representation, assurance or guarantee is provided that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in the information will actually occur. All forward-looking statements contained in the information are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this disclaimer. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Other than in accordance with their legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Takeover Code), Touchstone, the directors of Touchstone, its subsidiaries and subsidiary undertakings are under no obligation and undertake no obligation, and expressly disclaim any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Unless expressly stated otherwise, no statement contained or referred to in this section of the website is intended to be a profit forecast and no statement should be interpreted to mean that earnings or earnings per share will necessarily be greater or lesser than those for the relevant preceding financial periods for Touchstone.
Responsibility
The directors of Touchstone accept responsibility for the information contained in this announcement (including expressions of belief) and, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the Touchstone directors (having taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case), the information contained in this announcement is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information.
Additional Information
In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be available at www.touchstoneinnovations.com by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the business day following this announcement. The content of the website referred to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.
Ends