Versarien acquires IP and assets from Hanwha Aerospace

Engineering group Versarien has agreed to acquire certain graphene production-related assets and intellectual property from South Korean firm Hanwha Aerospace.

Versarien will issue 11.0m new ordinary shares in order to satisfy the acquisition, making the consideration equivalent to £4.34m at the 39.475p per ordinary Share closing mid-market price on 18 December.

The AIM-listed group highlighted that the acquisition comprised a portfolio of over 100 patents and patent rights, many originally developed by Samsung in South Korea, covering chemical vapour deposition graphene manufacturing methods and related applications, together with manufacturing equipment suitable for producing high-quality large format electronics grade graphene.

Chief executive Neill Ricketts said: "We are delighted to have agreed the acquisition which complements our existing portfolio of graphene materials technology. In particular, it will provide us with access to patented technology and equipment to produce high quality single and dual-layer graphene that has particular applications in the electronics sector, together with other areas, including in relation to some of our existing collaborations."

Elsewhere, Versarien entered into a subscription agreement with Lanstead Capital Investors to subscribe for 8.75m new ordinary shares at 40.0p each, raising gross proceeds of £3.5m, the proceeds of which will be used for an additional sharing agreement with Lanstead.

As of 1050 GMT, Versarien shares were down 2.96% at 37.82p.