An funding automobile based by one in every of Britain’s most outstanding enterprise capitalists is in superior talks to purchase a portfolio of stakes in a few of the nation’s most promising expertise corporations.
Sky Information has learnt that Lexham Companions, which was established this yr by Dominic Perks, is near agreeing a deal to accumulate shareholdings in corporations together with Paragraf, the graphene-based digital gadget firm, and Nexeon, a battery expertise specialist, from London-listed IP Group.
An individual near IP Group stated a transaction might be agreed as quickly as this week.
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Lexham would purchase a part of IP Group’s stakes in about ten corporations, though IP would retain a part of its current shareholdings, the particular person added.
Among the many different corporations included within the deal is claimed to be Istesso, which Mr Perks got here near taking public by way of a particular function acquisition firm in 2022.
A sale would generate money for IP Group, which has endured a interval of adverse efficiency solely partly offset by a variety of substantial realisations.
These included Featurespace, the corporate backed by Mike Lynch, the late expertise pioneer who died in the summertime in a boating accident off the coast of Italy.
Featurespace was bought through the autumn to Visa, the American funds large, for greater than £700m.
That yielded a complete money payout to IP Group of greater than £130m.
IP Group’s portfolio additionally consists of stakes in corporations akin to First Gentle, a nuclear fusion specialist, and Oxford Nanopore, the London-listed DNA sequencing group.
The worth of the deal between IP Group and Lexham was unclear on Tuesday.
Lexham was based by Mr Perks within the wake of his departure from Hambro Perks, which he established with Rupert Hambro, the financier.
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He has already agreed offers to purchase stakes in corporations together with Atom Financial institution, the digital lender, and is elevating a variety of fund autos to spend money on completely different areas of expertise.
Shares in IP Group have been buying and selling at about 45.5p on Tuesday afternoon, giving the corporate a market capitalisation of slightly below £450m.
IP Group and Lexham have each been contacted for remark.
