Research outfit picks London for share issue
ALLIED Minds, the US firm that transforms university research and development projects into corporate businesses, yesterday gave a vote of confidence to the London stock market by announcing plans to list in the capital.
The business, founded by chairman Mark Pritchard, works with biotech and technology R&D projects in 32 universities, including Harvard and UC Berkeley, as well as the US government.
Some of the biggest institutional investors in the world are shareholders in the business, including Invesco Perpetual and its former fund manager Neil Woodford.
The company said it will raise $140m (£83m) in the float, giving the company a valuation of around $600m. The UK listing of a US-focused R&D giant underlines London’s growing importance as a hub for intellectual property floats.
Peers like Imperial Innovations and IP Group have previously come to market, while biotech firm, BBI Diagnostics, unveiled plans to float in London on Monday.
“Academic and government research institutions in the US are a major source of scientific and technological innovation,” Pritchard said. “However, there are relatively few focused translational funding sources in the US to effectively transfer academic and government funded research into the commercial arena.”