REG - Nanoco Group PLC - Litigation Settlement Update

NanocoAnnouncement

09/01/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 0156M  Nanoco Group PLC  09 January 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
 
9 January 2023

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")

 

Litigation Settlement Update

 

Nanoco Group plc (LSE: NANO), a world leader in the development and
manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other specific nanomaterials
emanating from its technology platform, provides a further update on its
proposed settlement with Samsung.

 

Nanoco announced on 6 January 2023 that a term sheet for a no fault settlement
of the litigation had been agreed between Nanoco and Samsung (the "Parties").
The Parties have 30 days from that date to agree the full terms of a final
settlement agreement and therefore jointly requested a stay to the trial that
was scheduled to commence on 6 January. Following the announcement, the Judge
in the case agreed to that joint motion for a 30 day stay just before midnight
(GMT) on Friday 6 January.

 

The settlement process requires further negotiations and continues to operate
within the control of the US judicial system, and hence the outcome of the
litigation, its settlement, and timing are not wholly within the control of
the Parties. As a result of these factors, the value and terms of any final
agreement are not yet certain.

 

Details of the terms sheet and of any final agreement with Samsung are covered
by a confidentiality agreement to protect the commercial interests of both
Parties during the ongoing negotiations.

In evaluating the settlement offer and concluding that it provides a fair
outcome for the Company and its shareholders, the Board, having consulted with
its advisers in the litigation, took into account the following
considerations:

·      The gross settlement value should be expected to be towards the
lower end of the range of expectations for a successful jury trial outcome as
previously guided by the Company.

·      A settlement removes the risks of the litigation process,
potential appeal processes of the trial and the ongoing appeal of the Patent
Trial and Appeal Board decisions, further litigation costs, and the time value
of money.

·      Historical precedent shows that any final agreement is likely to
be a one off payment, with no forward royalties, for the full and final
settlement of all current and future patent litigation between the Parties in
all jurisdictions (colloquially referred to as "patent peace").

The Company expects to issue a further update on the final agreement following
the completion of the further negotiations between the Parties.

Christopher Richards, Non-Executive Chairman of Nanoco, said:

"The Board, having taken extensive advice from its advisers in the case, has
concluded that the draft settlement offer provides a reasonable and immediate
fair value for the litigation. The draft settlement accounts for both the
potential downside risks of a jury trial, followed by what would likely be
very protracted appeal processes, as well as the considerable adverse impact
of further litigation costs and funding, and on the time value of money in a
rising interest rate environment. Whilst there is still a degree of
uncertainty around the final settlement agreement, we are working with Samsung
to finalise the detailed agreement within the allowed 30 day period and look
forward to updating shareholders further in due course."

 

Brian Tenner, Chief Executive Officer of Nanoco, said:

"A settlement provides certainty to all our stakeholders and further
reinforces our confidence in the validity and enforceability of the Group's
global patent portfolio.

 

"I am more confident than ever about Nanoco's future prospects. A settlement
provides a firm financial underpinning to focus on our organic business, which
has made significant progress over the last three years.  It also
demonstrates the Company's willingness to vigorously defend our global IP
portfolio against any potentially infringing parties in the wider market."

 

- Ends -

 

For further information, please contact:

Nanoco Group PLC:

Brian Tenner, CEO
 
                                   +44 (0)1928 761 404

Liam Gray, CFO & Company Secretary

 

Peel Hunt (Joint Corporate Broker):

Paul
Gillam
                +44 (0) 20 7418 8900

James Smith

 

Turner Pope Investments (Joint Corporate Broker):

Andrew
Thacker
 
                                +44 (0) 20 3657
0050

James Pope

 

MHP:
 
+44 (0) 203 128 8100

Reg Hoare

Pete Lambie

nanoco@mhpgroup.com

 

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on
behalf of Nanoco is Liam Gray, Chief Financial Officer.

MAR

The information contained within this announcement is considered by the
Company to contain inside information for the purposes of UK MAR.  Upon the
publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this
inside information will be considered to be in the public domain.

 

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this
announcement) and other information published by Nanoco may contain statements
about Nanoco that are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements.
Such statements are prospective in nature.  All statements other than
historical statements of facts may be forward looking statements.  Without
limitation, statements containing the words "targets", "plans", "believes",
"expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "estimates",
"projects" or "considers" or other similar words may be forward looking
statements.

 

Forward looking statements inherently contain risks and uncertainties as they
relate to events or circumstances in the future.  Important factors such as
business or economic cycles, the terms and conditions of Nanoco's financing
arrangements, tax rates, or increased competition may cause Nanoco's actual
financial results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any
forward looking statements.  Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements,
which speak only as of the date hereof.  Nanoco disclaims any obligation to
update any forward looking or other statements contained herein, except as
required by applicable law.

 

Notes for editors:

About Nanoco Group plc

Nanoco (LSE: NANO) harnesses the power of nano-materials. Nano-materials are
materials with dimensions typically in the range 1 - 100 nm. Nano-materials
have a range of useful properties, including optical and electronic. Quantum
dots are a subclass of nano-material that have size-dependent optical and
electronic properties. The Group produces quantum dots and other
nano-materials. 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 Display, Sensor and Electronics markets. An interesting property of
quantum dots is their absorption spectrum. 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 image sensors.
Another interesting property of quantum dots is photoluminescence: the
emission of longer wavelength light upon excitation by light of a shorter
wavelength. The colour of light emitted depends on the particle size. 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 applications
including displays, lighting and biological imaging.

Nanoco was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Runcorn, UK, with a US
subsidiary, Nanoco Inc., in Concord, MA. Nanoco continues to build out a
world-class, patent-protected IP portfolio generated both by its own
innovation engine, as well as through acquisition.

Nanoco is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and trades
under the ticker symbol NANO. For further information please visit:
www.nanocotechnologies.com.

 

visit: www.nanocotechnologies.com.

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