TIDMVRS
RNS Number : 6238R
Versarien PLC
01 July 2020
1 July 2020
Versarien plc
("Versarien", the "Company" or the "Group")
Corporate Update
Notice of Results
Versarien (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group ,
is pleased to provide a c orporate update.
China Update
As described in the "China Update" announced by the Company on
25 March 2020, the Company signed an agreement with Young-Graphene
(Beijing) Technology Company Limited ("YG") to create a 50%-owned
Chinese joint venture out of the Company's previously wholly
foreign owned enterprise, Beijing Versarien Technology Co., Ltd.
("BVT"), for the development of the Company's activities in
China.
As previously announced by the Company on 25 March 2020, under
the joint-venture agreement with YG, Versarien can exercise a
backstop arrangement if YG fails to procure a definitive agreement
for the envisaged first Versarien share subscription by 30 June
2020. Under this backstop arrangement the Company is entitled to
purchase from YG all of its equity interest in BVT for a nominal
price of RMB10 (approximately GBP1) and YG shall accept such
purchase of its equity interest.
The last three months have seen significant progress by YG to
procure the funding for the first Versarien share subscription.
However, the recent and ongoing lockdown restrictions in both China
and the UK, coupled with the impact of political events in Hong
Kong have understandably had an impact on the process and the
ability of YG to complete the first Versarien share subscription by
30 June 2020. The Versarien Board has therefore considered whether
it should extend the backstop date, exercise it or not exercise it,
and has concluded that it is in the best interests of the Company
to exercise the backstop arrangement and return BVT to 100%
Versarien ownership for the time being. However, the Company
remains in discussions with YG and the Company's decision to
acquire YG's interest in BVT does not preclude any future
arrangements that may be agreed between the parties. For the
avoidance of doubt, the joint venture agreement between Versarien
and YG will therefore be terminated upon the completion of the
transfer of YG's interest in BVT or 31 July 2020, in any event.
In coming to its decision the Versarien Board has considered a
number of factors. These include, inter alia, the need for the
Company to retain flexibility and to have the ability to engage in
discussions with other interested parties in China; and the
increasing need, particularly in the current political environment,
to ensure the appropriate protection of the Company's intellectual
property. Furthermore, the Company has also been awarded a GBP5
million loan facility ("the Loan") by Innovate UK Loans Limited, a
wholly owned subsidiary of UK Research and Innovation, which allows
the Company to avoid any funding uncertainty that would arise from
extending the backstop date with YG. Further information regarding
the Loan is set out in a separate announcement of the Company to be
released this morning.
The Versarien Board remains focussed on the opportunities
available in China, as one element of its wider global graphene
commercialisation strategy, and the recent appointment of James
Stewart as Non-executive Chairman of the Company, together with the
permanent recruitment of Matt Walker, further outlined below, will
assist this.
Matt Walker appointed Head of International Strategy and
Government Relations
Following the completion of his secondment from the Department
for International Trade ("DIT"), Matt Walker is joining the Company
on a permanent basis as Head of International Strategy and
Government Relations (a non-board role) , with effect from 1 July
2020 .
As Head of International Strategy and Government Relations, Mr.
Walker will in particular continue to focus on advancing the
Company's on-going opportunities within South Korea, Singapore,
Japan and in China, where he will
be appointed a director of BVT.
Mr. Walker has previously held roles as Head of the Devolved
Administrations, where he was responsible for helping Scottish
Development International, Business Wales and Invest Northern
Ireland achieve Foreign Direct Investment and export targets, and
more recently as Head of Outward Direct Investment ("ODI") at the
UK Government's DIT, where he led the team which created the new
Government ODI Strategy, which became a DIT priority and policy
from April 2018.
Notice of Results and Covid 19 Update
Last year the Company published its preliminary results on 17
July 2019; however, owing to the impact of the Covid 19 lockdown on
the finalisation of the Company's audit it is intending to publish
the results for the year ended 31 March 2020 on 11 August 2020.
The Company has continued to operate all its businesses and
progress its graphene commercialisation strategy through the
lockdown period and y has provided essential supplies for the NHS
and UK infrastructure. In accordance with UK Government advice,
vulnerable employees were furloughed, homeworking was effected
where appropriate and those at work operate in accordance with the
Covid 19 safety guidelines in these uncertain times
Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented:
"Covid 19 and the complex political environment has obviously
impacted our plans in China, but this does not alter our strategy
for expansion, of which China is but a part. We remain well placed
in China and the triggering of the backstop arrangement with YG has
not fundamentally altered our strategy. However, in all our
activities we are very conscious of the need to protect our IP and
are grateful for the support and assistance we have been receiving
from the UK Government.
"Matt Walker's contribution to Versarien during his secondment,
particularly with regards to the expansion of our activities in
Asia, has been invaluable. We are thrilled to have him with us on a
full-time basis at this crucial moment, as we build on establishing
Versarien as a global leader in the advanced materials sector.
"We look forward to releasing our preliminary results in August
and providing an update on the progress we have been making with
our collaboration partners at that time."
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED TO
CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE
MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE
IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Enquiries:
Versarien
Neill Ricketts, CEO +44 (0)1242 269
Chris Leigh, CFO 122
SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nominated Adviser
and Joint Broker) +44 (0)20 3470
Ewan Leggat, Soltan Tagiev 0470
Berenberg (Joint Broker) +44 (0)20 3207
Mark Whitmore, Simon Cardron 7800
Yellow Jersey (Investor Relations)
Charles Goodwin
Georgia Colkin +44 (0)20 3004
Henry Wilkinson 9512
About Versarien
Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), is an advanced engineering materials
group. Leveraging proprietary technology, the Group creates
innovative engineering solutions for its clients in a diverse range
of industries. Versarien has seven active subsidiaries operating
under two divisions:
Graphene and Plastics
2-DTech Ltd, which specialises in the supply, characterisation
and early stage development of graphene products. 2-DTech is based
at the Graphene Innovation Engineering Centre, a GBP60 million
facility set up to work in collaboration with industry partners to
create, test and optimise new concepts for the delivery of graphene
to the market. www.2-dtech.com
AAC Cyroma Limited, which specialises in the supply of
vacuum-formed and injection-moulded products to the automotive,
construction, utilities and retail industry sectors. Using
Versarien's existing graphene manufacturing capabilities, AAC has
the ability to produce graphene-enhanced plastic products.
www.aaccyroma.co.uk
Cambridge Graphene Limited, supplies novel inks based on
graphene and related materials, using patented
processes to develop graphene materials technology. www.cambridgegraphene.com
Gnanomat S.L. ("GNA"), based in the Parque Cientifico Madrid,
Spain, is a company capable of utilising Versarien's graphene
products in an environmentally friendly, scalable production
process for energy storage devices that offer high power density,
fast recharging and very long lifetimes for use in electrical
vehicles and portable electronics products. www.gnanomat.com
Versarien Graphene Inc - based in Texas, is the recently
incorporated sales business for the UK's graphene products.
Hard Wear and Metallic Products
Versarien Technologies Limited has developed an additive process
for creating advanced micro-porous metals targeting the thermal
management industry and supplies extruded aluminium.
www.versarien-technologies.co.uk
Total Carbide Limited, a leading manufacturer in sintered
tungsten carbide for applications in arduous environments such as
the oil and gas industry. www.totalcarbide.com
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END
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