Imperial Innovations Group Regulatory News (IVO)

Imperial Innovations Group plc

Membrane Extraction Technology sold for €4.5m

London, 2 March 2010. Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO, 'Innovations'), a leading technology commercialisation and investment company, announces that Membrane Extraction Technology (MET), a company in which Innovations has a 20% stake, has been sold for a total consideration of €4.5.m in cash to Evonik Industries AG, a multinational specialty chemical manufacturer.

Innovations' 20% holding was a combination of its founding equity stake and a £50,000 investment in 2008. The other financial investors were Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trust and Citigroup Capital Ventures. In total Innovations has received a cash payment (net of transaction costs) of €903,976 from the sale, resulting in a net payment to it of €653,409 after deduction of revenue it shares with Imperial College London. Innovations' carrying value for MET was £155,000 as at 31 July 2009. The cash proceeds will be held for reinvestment purposes.

MET is a chemical separations specialist supplying the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries with an international client base spanning the USA, Europe and the Far East. The company was founded by its Chief Executive Officer, Professor Andrew Livingston, Head of Chemical Engineering Imperial College London. In its last financial year to 31 July 2009, MET made a profit of £11,102 and paid no dividend.

Susan Searle, Innovation's Chief Executive, commented:

"MET is another good example of a trade sale of a business that has been built with a relatively modest amount of investment and highlights the success of our investment strategy, involving regular exits by our maturing companies.

"Professor Livingston has played a key role in driving the development of MET, and his vision and scientific expertise has proved invaluable as the company has grown."

Professor Andrew Livingston, MET's Chief Executive, added:

"The synergies between MET and Evonik make a compelling case for this excellent deal. The integration of the technology platforms of MET and Evonik through the combination of MET expertise in membranes and processes with Evoniks expertise in polymers and process engineering will make the combination company the market leader in Organic Solvent Nanofiltration (OSN).

"By accessing excellent research at Imperial College London, and with the support of our investors, we have been able to build an international company with strong revenues and excellent prospects. The acquisition by Evonik will lead the company to the next level of growth and revenues."

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Enquiries:

Imperial Innovations Tel. 020 7594 6589

Susan Searle, Chief Executive Officer

Diana Crisp, PR Manager

College Hill Tel. 020 7457 2020

Carl Franklin / Tony Stephenson 

J.P. Morgan Cazenove (NOMAD to Imperial Innovations) Tel. 020 7588 2828

Steve Baldwin

Notes to editors

Imperial Innovations - www.imperialinnovations.co.uk 

Innovations creates, builds and invests in pioneering technologies addressing global problems in healthcare, energy and engineering. It combines deep understanding of science and technology with commercial acumen and strong investment expertise. 

Innovations supports scientist-entrepreneurs in the commercialisation of their ideas by:

·; leading the formation of new companies and providing facilities in the early stages,

·; providing significant investment and encouraging co-investment to accelerate the transition from R&D to products,

·; providing operational expertise, and

·; helping to recruit high-calibre industry figures and experienced entrepreneurs as executive management and Board members.

In some situations it is more appropriate to license out some of the diverse range of IP-protected technologies, rather than develop new businesses around them. This will provide Innovations with long-term profitable revenue streams.

Innovations has exclusive access to scientific and technological developments coming out of Imperial College London, one of the world's leading research institutions. It has already achieved significant success with its early investments; for example its £1.5m investment in obesity drug developer Thiakis could return up to £22m, following its sale to Wyeth for £100m in 2008.

In the year to July 2009, Innovations invested £14.4m in 20 ventures, helping to launch six new companies. With a technology portfolio of more than 80 companies, Innovations' most advanced assets, in addition to Thiakis, include:

·; Ceres Power (now listed on AIM): Micro combined heat and power generators for domestic use

·; Circassia: Innovative treatments for a wide range of allergies

·; Nexeon: Cheaper, greener rechargeable batteries

·; Respivert: Discovering new treatments for respiratory diseases, including asthma

·; VeryanMed: Stents inspired by the human vascular system