IP Group’s largest life sciences holding at end-2023, Oxford Nanopore (ONT), which developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology, announced earlier today that it has successfully completed an issue of 66.7m ordinary shares (c 7.6% of its issued capital), raising £80m of gross proceeds (upsized from the initial £75m as the issue was multiple times oversubscribed). This includes a £50m strategic investment by Novo Holdings (the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk and Novozymes), with the remaining proceeds coming from institutional investors. As per the announcement, Novo Holdings currently intends (subject to availability and price, among others) to purchase another £10m worth of ONT shares over time in the market.

On 12 June IP Group announced that Garrison Technology, one of its key deeptech holdings, is being acquired by US-based cybersecurity company Everfox (formerly Forcepoint Federal), which has been Garrison’s partner for several years. IP Group highlighted that it would receive a cash consideration upon deal completion for its 23.6% stake in Garrison and that the valuation of Garrison implied by the deal will not result in any meaningful uplift to last carrying value. Based on this, we understand that IP Group will sell its stake at a price, which is broadly in line with the £31.6m fair value as at end-December 2023 (or c 2.7% of its end-2023 NAV). This is an indication of IP Group’s prudent approach to valuing the business (it had been valued in line with its £15.5m funding round in 2023). Further exits in line with or above last carrying value should assist a narrowing of the current wide discount to NAV of c 61%.

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