IP Group makes offer for Touchstone Innovations; rejected by board
Group also plans £200m raising to fund launch of Australian venture
Intellectual property-based business developer IP Group said it had made an offer for Touchstone Innovations and was also planning to raise £200m in a cash call.
IP said Touchstone's board had rejected its approach of 2.1490 IP shares for every Touchstone share, although it added that it had received support from 51.8% of Touchstone shareholders.
This would give Touchstone shareholders a 38% per cent stake in the merged group and implied an offer value of 307 pence per Touchstone share.
In a separate announcement, IP said it was raising £200m through a new shares issue at a price of 140p each to help fund the launch of IP Group Australia, a wholly-owned private company incorporated in the state of Victoria.
IP said the new firm had signed commercialisation agreements with nine Australian and New Zealand research universities, known as the "Go9", under which it intends to form spin-out companies based on disruptive IP developed in them.