Litigation Settlement Update

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                                                                                                                                [phone]

Liam Gray, CFO & Company Secretary

Peel Hunt (Joint Corporate Broker):

Paul Gillam    [phone]

James Smith

Turner Pope Investments (Joint Corporate Broker):

Andrew Thacker      [phone]

James Pope

MHP :    [phone]

Reg Hoare

Pete Lambie

[e-mail]

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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