Litigation update and non-dilutive debt facility

RNS Number : 2384D

Nanoco Group PLC

28 June 2021

 

28 June 2021

NANOCO GROUP PLC

("Nanoco", the "Company" or the "Group")

Litigation update and non-dilutive debt facility

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, announces an update on its litigation against Samsung for the alleged wilful infringement of the Group's IP and an intention from our major shareholders to provide a non-dilutive debt facility to the Group.

On 17 February 2020, the Group announced that it had filed a patent infringement lawsuit against various Samsung entities in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (the 'Court'). As previously reported, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the 'PTAB') announced its decision to institute inter partes reviews ('IPRs') of the five patents in the case. IPRs are a standard part of IP litigation and examine the validity of the patents themselves. The PTAB works to a regulated timeframe and hence a decision on the IPRs is expected no later than May 2022.

Nanoco has now petitioned the judge in the Eastern District of Texas to delay the Court trial until after the IPR decision is announced. A ruling in favour of the joint motion is expected shortly. This approach has the following expected benefits for Nanoco and its position:

· The IPRs will settle the majority of issues of patent validity and hence these matters will not have to be addressed in Court which will allow Nanoco to focus on the issues of infringement and damages.

· Nanoco has more claims in this suit than could be argued in a trial. By going to trial after the IPRs, Nanoco will be able to bring to Court those claims already confirmed as valid by the PTAB.

· With the passage of time, more infringing units of Samsung product will be sold, thereby increasing the baseline historical damages that result from a favourable trial verdict.

It is expected that a trial will be re-scheduled for late 2022 once the outcome of the IPRs is known. Both the IPRs and court processes are then subject to appeal by both parties. Nanoco's legal costs remain fully underwritten by the third party litigation funder.

Given encouraging developments in the organic business, the Group's major shareholders have indicated an intention to provide a non-dilutive debt facility of £3.0m to the Group. The Board expects to finalise these arrangements shortly, at which time a further announcement will be made.

Brian Tenner, Chief Executive Officer of Nanoco Group plc, said:

"We are making strong progress in our sensing materials with customer published roadmaps indicating potential commercial production in 2023. We also continue to develop new strategic relationships. With a low and sustainable cost base underpinning our core capabilities, production revenues will quickly see the Group move to break even and organic cash generation in the short to medium term. The support of our major shareholders will bridge the gap to that point in time and also ensure our robustness throughout the Samsung litigation process.

"Going to trial after the outcome of the IPRs is known will maximise Nanoco's chances of winning the litigation. Nanoco's team will be able to leverage claims that have already been shown to be valid and thereby remove one hurdle to be overcome during the trial. The sale of additional TVs by Samsung in the run up to the later trial date also has the potential to increase the baseline value in any damages model, which would also be subject to a multiplier for wilful infringement.

"We have always needed to win both the IPRs and the trial to achieve a successful outcome to the litigation process. The welcome support of our major shareholders, while the IPRs and the Court process both remain fully underwritten by the third party litigation funder, allows us to manage the additional time until the trial. Our confidence in the robustness and credibility of Nanoco's patents to lead to a successful outcome to the IPRs and the litigation remains unchanged."

- Ends -

For further information, please contact:

Nanoco Group PLC :      [phone]

Brian Tenner, CEO

Liam Gray, Company Secretary

Caroline Watson, Investor Relations Manager

[e-mail]

Peel Hunt:                                                                                                                                  [phone]

Edward Knight

Nick Prowting

James Smith

MHP Communications :  [phone]

Reg Hoare

Giles Robinson

Pete Lambie

[e-mail]

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Nanoco is Liam Gray, Company Secretary.

MAR

The information contained within this announcement is considered by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. 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 Manchester, 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.

 

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