Acquisition of InventionEvaluator.com

RNS Number : 1405N

Tekcapital plc

23 July 2014

 



Tekcapital plc

("Tekcapital" or "the Company")

Tekcapital Acquires InventionEvaluator.com

to Support and Expand Corporate and University IP Service offerings

Tekcapital plc (AIM: TEK), an international provider of technology and IP services, is pleased to announce the acquisition of InventionEvaluator.com ("Invention Evaluator") and related intellectual property assets, including its website and client list (the "Acquisition") from Keon Research LLC and Ion Corp Pty Limited. The Acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in its first full year under Tekcapital's ownership and add forward revenue and profit to the Company in the near-term.

Strategic Rationale

As set out in its IPO Admission Document, as part of Tekcapital's growth strategy, the Company has been seeking to add additional services and expand its business, both organically and through accretive acquisitions. The Directors believe that the Acquisition meets this criterion and adds an important new product that is a useful follow-on service to Tekcapital's existing service offering and will also be sold as a stand-alone product. 

Tekcapital's existing offering provides its retained clients with a complete turnkey solution to locate, screen and acquire technologies available for acquisition from the world's leading universities and research institutions across 160 countries. Once a suitable technology acquisition opportunity has been identified, the Company evaluates the IP through its expert Science Advisory Board and can then, if required, act as an intermediary between the client and the university or research institution with a view to the acquisition or licensing of the specific technology. 

Invention Evaluator will integrate with Tekcapital's existing offering and enable Tekcapital to provide its clients with in-depth analytical reports that assess the commercial potential of new technologies and intellectual properties ("IP"). The bespoke reports enable companies and universities world-wide to make more informed decisions regarding investments in new technologies. For Tekcapital's existing customers, Invention Evaluator's reports will allow them to better understand the market potential for a new technology acquisition candidate. In addition to Tekcapital's existing and target customer base of IP acquisitive companies, the Directors believe that Invention Evaluator's product will be of interest to universities and research institutions and as a result will expand Tekcapital's relationships with these organisations.  

Invention Evaluator was launched in 2010 by a company owned and operated by Dr. Michael Manion. Invention Evaluator has to-date served about 250 clients world-wide. Following the completion of the Acquisition, Dr. Manion and his team will continue to provide Invention Evaluator reports exclusively for Tekcapital.

Terms of the acquisition

Consideration in respect of the acquisition will be satisfied by the issue of 879,770 new ordinary shares in Tekcapital plc (the "Consideration Shares"). The Consideration Shares will be subject to lockup restrictions preventing their sale for a period of 12 months from the date of completion. Following completion of the Acquisition, the assets will be held via Tekcapital's wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Tekcapital LLC. Under the ownership of its developer, Invention Evaluator had not yet become profitable. Within the overall suite of Tekcapital's offering it will be given a wider market exposure and the aim is for it to contribute significantly.

Application has been made for the Consideration Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and dealings are expected to commence on 29 July 2014.

Total voting rights

Following admission of the Consideration Shares, Tekcapital's total issued and voting share capital will comprise of 23,383,747 ordinary shares. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, securities of the Company.

Commenting on the acquisition, Dr. Clifford Gross, Executive Chairman of Tekcapital plc, said:

"We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of InventionEvaluator.com and believe that this unique service will be of benefit to current and future clients seeking to understand the marketplace value of new technology acquisitions.

"This transaction underscores our commitment to growing our business through the acquisition of synergistic, scalable services that help our clients profit from university technologies."

Dr. Michael Manion, the founder of Invention Evaluator, added:

"We are enthusiastic about the transaction and believe that by working with Tekcapital we will be able to grow faster and penetrate additional markets with our service offering."

To learn more about Invention Evaluator please visit www.inventionevaluator.com

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For further information please contact:

Tekcapital Plc	via FTI Consulting, LLP
Clifford Gross, Executive Chairman	[e-mail]
Malcolm Groat, Finance Director	[e-mail]
Northland Capital Partners Limited (NOMAD & Broker)	[phone]
Louis Castro / Lauren Kettle (Corporate Finance)	[e-mail]
John Howes / Alice Lane (Corporate Broking)
Optiva Securities Limited (Co-Broker)	[phone]
Jeremy King / Vishal Balasingham	[e-mail]
FTI Consulting, LLP	[phone]
Chris Lane / Emma Appleton / Roger Newby	[e-mail]

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About Tekcapital plc - The World's Largest University Network for Open Innovation

Tekcapital helps clients profit from new, university-developed intellectual properties. With our proprietary discovery search engine, linked to 3,300+ universities in 160 countries, coupled with expert scientific review, we provide a turn-key service to make it easy for clients to find and acquire the IP they need to create a competitive advantage. Tekcapital plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in Oxford, in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com

 

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