FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF
ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (596/2014/EU) AS THE SAME
HAS BEEN RETAINED IN UK LAW AS AMENDED BY THE MARKET ABUSE
(AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI 2019/310) ("UK
MAR").
Nanoco Group
PLC
("Nanoco", the "Group", or the "Company")
Receipt of General Meeting
Requisition Notice
Nanoco Group plc (LSE: NANO)
announces the receipt of a notice from the Milkwood Fund
("Milkwood"), on behalf of 5.6% of the voting rights of the Company
(the "Requisitioner"), to requisition a general meeting ("GM") of
the Company under section 303 of the Companies Act 2006 (the
"Notice").
The Board is in the process of
reviewing the content and validity of the Notice with its advisers
and will make a further announcement in due course. Shareholders
are urged to take no action in the meantime.
The Notice proposes two separate
resolutions for the respective appointments of Mr Rhys Summerton
and Mr Andre Tonkin to the Board of Nanoco Group plc, Mr Summerton
being a Director of Milkwood, and Mr Tonkin being an employee of
Milkwood. The Notice does not provide any details as to the
background of these individuals nor as to the contribution that
they might make to the Company.
The Notice provides no information
as to Milkwood's reasons for taking this action. Mr
Summerton, on behalf of Milkwood, has previously in dialogue
indicated to the Board the intention to acquire a significant stake
in the Company, divest its assets, and convert the Company into an
investment company, utilising its cash and
listing.
The Board reminds shareholders of
the recent announcements that:
- the Company
has appointed a new CEO with a track record in driving shareholder
value in leading materials sciences based businesses in order to
lead the Company and its business into the future, whatever that
might be; and
- the
operating cost base of the Company has been significantly
rationalised to fit its current circumstances, without compromising
its potential and its inherent value; and
- expert
advisers have been appointed to review at pace the options for the
ownership of the Company's trading business and IP assets in which
the Board is confident that there is considerable inherent value;
and
- the Board
has also taken steps to reduce the cash cost of the Board, without
compromising corporate governance standards and plans to reduce the
size of the Board during FY25; and
- the Board
believes that any surplus cash reserves should be returned to
shareholders, rather than being retained for any purpose. The
Company intends to make a further announcement on this
following the release of the FY24 report and accounts.
The Board is confident that pursuing
this combination of strategic objectives is in the best interests
of shareholders as a whole.
For further information, please
contact:
|
Nanoco Group plc:
Christopher Richards, Non-Executive
Chairman
Dmitry Shashkov, CEO
Liam Gray, CFO & Company
Secretary
|
+44 (0)1928 761 404
|
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Financial Adviser &
Corporate Broker):
Ed Frisby / Henrik Persson / George
Lawson (Corporate Finance)
Tim Redfern / Charlie Combe
(Corporate Broking)
Jasper Berry (Sales)
|
+44 (0) 20 7220 0500
|
|
Sodali & Co (Public
Relations):
Elly Williamson
Pete Lambie
Nanoco@sodali.com
|
+44
(0)79 3535 1934
|
About Nanoco Group plc
Nanoco (LSE: NANO) is a nanomaterial
production and licensing company, specialising in the production of
its patented cadmium free quantum dots (CFQD®) and other patented
nanomaterials for use in the electronics industries.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in
Runcorn, UK, Nanoco continues to build out a world-class,
patent-protected IP portfolio alongside its existing scaled up
production facilities for commercial orders.
Nanomaterials are materials with
dimensions typically in the range 1 - 100 nm. Nanomaterials have a
range of useful properties, including optical and electronic.
Quantum dots are a subclass of nanomaterial that have
size-dependent optical and electronic properties. Within the sphere
of quantum dots, the Group exploits different characteristics of
the quantum dots to target different performance criteria that are
attractive to specific markets or end-user applications such as the
Sensor, Electronics and Display markets. Nanoco's CFQD® quantum
dots are free of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals, and can be
tuned to emit light at different wavelengths across the visible and
infrared spectrum, rendering them useful for a wide range of
display applications. Nanoco's HEATWAVE™ quantum dots can be tuned
to absorb light at different wavelengths across the near-infrared
spectrum, rendering them useful for applications including cameras
and image sensors.
Nanoco is listed on the Main Market
of the London Stock Exchange, holds the LSE's Green Economy Mark,
and trades under the ticker symbol NANO. For further information
please visit: www.nanocotechnologies.com