COE Group PLC placing to raise £950,000
IP Group to become Major Shareholder
1st August 2006
COE Group plc, the developer and supplier of advanced video surveillance systems, today announces that IP Group plc, the intellectual property commercialisation company, through its subsidiary, IP2IPO Limited, and Richard Farleigh, one of IP Group’s key business angels, have agreed to be the lead investors in a proposed fundraising of £950,000, before expenses, by way of a placing of 11,875,000 ordinary shares at price of 8p per share (the “Placing”).
Following the Placing, IP Group and Richard Farleigh, who has backed over 50 early stage technology companies including Wolfson Microelectronics plc, ARC International plc, Amino Technologies plc, ANT plc, Celoxica Holdings plc, Oxonica plc and Clearspeed Technology plc, will own 60.95 per cent. of COE’s enlarged share capital.
The Directors of COE are confident that the Placing will result in the Company being well funded and with both the financial and business support to move forward for the benefit of all shareholders. The proceeds of the Placing will be used by COE to fund continued sales growth and to strengthen the Company’s balance sheet.
As at 31 July 2006, IP Group’s market capitalisation was approximately £311 million. Its shares were admitted to the Official List on 19 June 2006 and trading in its shares on AIM ceased at the same time. As at 31 May 2006, IP Group had cash of £56.6 million.
Andrew Wallace, Chief Executive of COE Group, said: “We are delighted that IP Group sees the potential growth in COE. This transaction is a major endorsement of COE’s technology and its prospects while providing important financing for COE to fund expansion and further exploit our products. IP Group’s extensive portfolio of core technologies, several of which have applications in the surveillance and counter-terrorism markets, provides COE with excellent technology sources for addressing customers’ needs. We also plan to use IP Group’s extensive resources to help COE become a consolidator in the swiftly evolving surveillance and security markets.”
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: “This is the first time in IP Group’s history that it has made a direct investment into another quoted company, and it is consistent with our strategy of investing in interesting technology companies where we see excellent opportunities and significant market growth. We are extremely excited by the growth prospects for COE and are particularly impressed with its international reputation for complex video surveillance systems in demanding environments – something that has potential operational and financial synergies with certain companies and technologies within the IP Group portfolio. COE’s management has made excellent progress in the last few years and we are very much looking forward to working with them.”
About COE
COE is a leading developer and exporter of advanced video surveillance (CCTV) systems with a global installed base of large safety-critical systems, many in extreme environments. COE focuses on three sectors – traffic & transport, city-centre surveillance and industrial complexes. Traffic and transport references include the London Congestion Charge, the underground rail systems in France, Singapore, Hong Kong & Delhi, high-speed rail systems in Spain, Germany and the UK, airports across Germany, Hong Kong and SE Asia, and road systems worldwide. City-centre systems include over 35 UK towns & cities, while industrial complexes include the South Pars gas field in the Middle East.
With a 16 year track record of innovation in video surveillance, COE has developed a portfolio of rugged products for camera control, video transmission, scene analysis, operator display and recording which interface with most major third party systems. These systems are designed to work reliably in extreme environments for many years. The company also provides services including system design, on-site test, commissioning and long-term maintenance. COE’s installed base is worth around £50M.
COE supports its extensive analogue customer base with hybrid analogue/digital systems which allow users to obtain many of the benefits of digital technologies without the need to replace major investments.
COE sells through regional & global systems integrators such as Siemens, Alcatel and Singapore Technologies, and through an extensive network of Value Added Resellers. COE has staff in the UK, France, India, Singapore and Malaysia.
About IP Group
IP Group Plc is an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation company that specialises in commercialising university technology. Founded in 2001, IP Group listed on AiM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. It has made two acquisitions to date – Techtran, a company set up to commercialise university intellectual property under a long term contract with the University of Leeds, in 2005 and Top Technology Ventures, an investment adviser to early stage technology venture capital funds, in 2004.
The group has formed long-term partnerships with seven universities – the University of Oxford, King’s College London, CNAP/University of York, the University of Leeds, the University of Bristol, the University of Surrey and the University of Southampton.
As at 13 June 2006, 42 spin-out companies had been created among the group’s university partners. Of those, seven have listed on the AiM market of the London Stock Exchange and there has been one trade sale.
For more information, please visit our website at http://www.ipgroupplc.com/
For further information please contact:
Andrew Wallace at COE Limited on 0113 230 8862 e-mail: AWallace@coe.co.uk Website:www.coe.co.uk
Contact information: COE Limited, Photon House, Percy Street, LEEDS, West Yorkshire, LS12 1EG, United Kingdom
TEL: +44 (0)113 230 8800 FAX: +44 (0)113 279 9229 E-MAIL: sales@coe.co.uk