Acquisition of AAC Cyroma

RNS Number : 4504L

Versarien PLC

03 October 2016

 

The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014

3 October 2016

Versarien plc

Acquisition of AAC Cyroma

Versarien plc (AIM:VRS) ("Versarien" or the "Company" or the "Group"), the advanced materials group, is pleased to announce the acquisition ("the Acquisition") of AAC Cyroma Limited ("AAC Cyroma"), a specialist plastics manufacturing business serving a range of sectors including automotive and fast moving consumer goods.

ACC Cyroma was established in 2002 and operates from a 45,000 square foot facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire.  Using Versarien's existing graphene manufacturing capabilities, in combination with AAC Cyroma's knowledge, plant and equipment, the acquisition will provide the Group with an ability to produce graphene enhanced products for an established customer base, both domestic and international, including leading automotive OEMs.  Versarien believes this will be the first dedicated graphene enhanced plastics manufacturing factory in the world.

AAC Cyroma is being acquired for an initial cash consideration of £1.395 million plus the assumption of approximately £264,000 debt and £266,000 in new Versarien shares ("the Consideration Shares"). Up to an additional £200,000 of deferred consideration will be payable based upon AAC Cyroma achieving pre-tax profit targets for the years ending 31 December 2017 and 2018.  The transaction involves Versarien purchasing the entire share capital of The Breakfast Club 2000 Ltd, a non-trading holding company owning 85% of the shares of AAC Cyroma and 15% of the shares of AAC Cyroma from an individual to give Versarien 100% ownership of AAC Cyroma.  The Consideration Shares will be issued at 10p, being the average mid-market closing price at which shares in Versarien traded for the 5 days immediately prior to completion on 1 October 2016; and will be the subject of a lock-in for the period of 12 months from completion.

Application will be made for the new Versarien shares to be admitted to AIM and it is expected that dealings will take place with effect from commencement of business on Friday 7 October 2016.

In the year to 31 December 2015 AAC Cyroma achieved sales of £4.27 million with a profit before tax of £166,000 and EBITDA of £375,000.  Net assets at 31 December 2015 were £883,000.

James Baker, Graphene Business Director at the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at The University of Manchester, commented:  "Graphene, first isolated in 2004 in Manchester, is already being rapidly developed into a range of products and applications that are starting to appear in the marketplace.  Whilst initially these products involve the addition of a graphene type material to improve performance, we are now starting to see real improvements in performance as quality and knowledge of the material improves. Through partnership and collaboration with industry, the National Graphene Institute is looking to accelerate the adoption of graphene-based products and applications. We look forward to continuing to develop new applications through our partnership with Versarien."

Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented:  "We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of AAC Cyroma, our largest acquisition since IPO.  The Acquisition is transformational for Versarien, adding a profitable business to the group and importantly one that has considerable synergies with our current activities.  It provides a dedicated facility from which to manufacture graphene enhanced plastics on an industrial scale.  With an established customer base, AAC Cyroma brings a wealth of knowledge of the plastics market together with existing infrastructure, making the combined operation the first graphene enhanced plastic producing factory in existence.  

"We are delighted to welcome the management and employees of AAC Cyroma to Versarien and we look forward to working with them as we continue to develop the business  together."

For further information please contact:

Versarien plc	www.versarien.com
Neill Ricketts - Chief Executive Officer	[phone]
Chris Leigh - Chief Financial Officer
WH Ireland (Nominated Adviser)	www.wh-ireland.co.uk
John Wakefield / Ed Allsopp	[phone]
IFC Advisory (Financial PR and IR)	www.investor-focus.co.uk
Tim Metcalfe / Graham Herring / Heather Armstrong / Miles Nolan	[phone]

Notes to Editors:

About Versarien

Versarien plc (AIM:VRS), is an advanced materials group. Leveraging proprietary technology, the Group creates innovative engineering solutions for its clients in a diverse range of industries. Versarien has three subsidiaries:

Versarien Technologies Ltd owns the exclusive rights to a patent-protected additive process for creating advanced micro-porous metals targeting the thermal management industry and manufactures extruded aluminium heat sinks for the electronics and computing industries. www.versarien-technologies.co.uk 

Versarien Advanced Composites Limited has been established in order to progress the commercial application of graphene-enhanced composite products.

Total Carbide Ltd, a leading manufacturer in sintered tungsten carbide for applications in arduous environments such as the oil and gas industry. www.totalcarbide.com 

2-DTech Ltd., which specialises in the supply, characterisation and early stage development of graphene products.   www.2-dtech.com

 

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