Forms relationship with P&G

18 Jul 2005 07:00

XL TechGroup, Inc.18 July 2005 Press Release 18 July 2005 XL TechGroup, Inc. ("XL TechGroup" or "the Company") XLTechGroup and Procter & Gamble form strategic relationship XL TechGroup (AIM: XLT), the systematic architect and builder of an ongoingstream of high value new companies, announces the formation of a strategicrelationship with The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) to explore newbusiness opportunities using early stage technologies to address unmet marketneeds. Consistent with P&G's "Connect + Develop" strategy aimed at acceleratinginnovation, this deal will couple portions of P&G's vast portfolio ofIntellectual Property with XL TechGroup's expertise in systematically developingnew technology businesses and scaling them to liquidity. XL TechGroup's business model identifies unmet business needs, finds atechnology solution that has a high potential of market adoption, develops thebusiness and then rapidly scales it to achieve maximum value. "We are delighted to be extending our existing strong relationship with such aprestigious partner as P&G by entering into this agreement, and we have alreadyidentified the first platform technology to develop," said Dr. John Scott, XLTechGroup's CEO. "We are constantly searching for technologies to address unmetmarket needs and this provides us with an opportunity to evaluate some of P&G'searly-stage IP that we might progress to market." XL TechGroup and P&G have worked together previously to help universitiescommercialise technologies donated by P&G. "Based on the success of ourprevious relationship, we have added a new model whereby XL TechGroup iscommercialising these early stage technologies directly from P&G," said GregHillebrand, manager university relations, P&G. "P&G is broadly interested in collaboration with companies that can help buildvalue and drive mutual growth," said Tom Cripe, associate director, openinnovation and external business development at Procter & Gamble. "We believeXL TechGroup's unique capabilities to reach the market could enable innovativesolutions that meet the needs of the world's consumers. This is a new type ofpartnership for P&G that could serve as a model for collaboration in the future." - ends - For further information:XL TechGroup Inc.Harold Gubnitsky Tel: +1 321 409 7403hgubnitsky@xltg.com www.xltechgroup.com XL TechGroup media inquiries:Abchurch CommunicationsSamantha Robbins / Chris Munden Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700samantha.robbins@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com The Procter & Gamble CompanySean Parker Tel: +1 513 983 7659parker.st@pg.com www.pg.com NOTES TO EDITORS About XL TechGroup XL TechGroup identifies unmet market needs in the Biotech, Ecotech and Medtechsectors and then systematically creates and develops successful disruptivetechnology businesses to exploit these needs. The Company has developed aunique proven method to rapidly bring companies from inception to liquidity,matching unexploited IP from a group of technology partners to the identifiedunmet market need. XL TechGroup employs its own predictive algorithm to ensurethe market will rapidly adopt the identified solution and then moves to scalethe company specifically created to exploit the opportunity. Before forming XL TechGroup, the management team created substantial value forshareholders over a twelve year period, successfully exiting six technologybusinesses at an average market valuation of approximately US$500 million. The listing of the first company created under the XL TechGroup banner, AgCertInternational, continues to validate the systematic approach to value creation. • AgCert International was created by XL TechGroup in May 2002 and is a global leader in the production and sale of agriculturally derived greenhouse gas emission reductions, with business in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. AgCert was listed on the London Stock Exchange on 8th June 2005 with an initial market cap of approximately £215 million. XL TechGroup maintains a 27.2% interest in AgCert. www.agcert.com The second and third companies in the new generation of XL TechGroup businesses are: • TyraTech LLC, which was created by XL TechGroup in July 2004, is developing a new class of highly effective, non-toxic pesticides using cloned insect chemoreceptors, based on approved, safe, natural oils. Its development is progressing rapidly and TyraTech, which is 66.7% owned by XL TechGroup, is expected to be earning its first revenues by the end of 2005. www.tyratech.com • DxTech LLC was created by XL TechGroup in July 2005, and is developing a unique micro-fluidic platform that replaces essentially all biological tests currently performed at reference laboratories with a fully-automated, point-of-care device. This technology has applications in significantly lowering costs and increasing efficiency for major pharmaceutical companies in their clinical trials, the provision of diagnostics in developing countries and delivering a new revenue stream for doctors in the USA. DxTech is currently 100% owned by XL TechGroup. XL TechGroup has several other opportunities already at an advanced stage in its business creation pipeline. For further information, see www.xltechgroup.com About Procter & Gamble Two billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadershipbrands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Bounty(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Actonel(R), Olay(R), Clairol Nice 'n Easy(R), Head & Shoulders(R), and Wella. The P&G community consists of almost 110,000 employees workingin over 80 countries worldwide. P&G's External Business Development organization is charged with ensuring thecompany maximizes the value of its 'treasure trove' of technologies, know-howand trademarks by seeking mutually beneficial deals with external partners. Theunit also helps find external technologies, products, and capabilities that canbe used to drive growth on P&G's core businesses. For more information please go to www.pgtechnologytransfer.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange