Sep 13, 2021

Save for later NEW YORK – Oxford Nanopore Technologies last week filed a registration document for an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. The company had first announced in March its intention to go public on the LSE in the second half of this year. At that time, IP Group, its largest shareholder, said it valued Oxford Nanopore at around £2.27 billion ($3.14 billion). "Our differentiated commercial model and technology platform, where devices range from low-cost plug-and-play sequencing in the palm of your hand to industrial-scale installations, significantly expands the potential customer communities who could benefit from the technology," Gordon Sanghera, Oxford Nanopore's CEO, said in an Expected Intention to Float announcement. "We believe Oxford Nanopore is ideally suited to both disrupt existing markets and create entirely new ones. An IPO will be a step on the journey to make our vision a reality, supporting our ambitious growth plans and enhancing our ability to innovate and grow.” According to the EITF filing, the company plans to sell both new shares and shares from existing shareholders in the offer and intends to float at least 25 percent of its total shares on the LSE. Oxford Nanopore plans to disclose additional details about the IPO in a future Intention to Float announcement and prospectus. The company has hired Merrill Lynch International, Citigroup Global Markets, and JP Morgan Securities (conducting its UK investment banking business as JP Morgan Cazenove) as joint global coordinators and Barclays Bank; Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. London Branch; Guggenheim Securities; Numis Securities; and RBC Europe as joint bookrunners for the offer. The firm said in its EITF filing that it estimates the DNA/RNA sequencing market to be worth $5.7 billion in 2021, with an annual growth rate of 18 percent between 2020 and 2023, based on a report from DeciBio. It also believes its nanopore platform can expand the DNA/RNA sequencing market with applications in healthcare, agriculture, food, and other areas. Oxford Nanopore also reported life science research tools revenues of £52.6 million ($72.8 million) for the first half of 2021, more than double its LSRT revenues in the first half of 2020. Meanwhile, revenues from COVID testing declined 72 percent in H1 of 2021. For full year 2021, management expects total revenue growth to be affected by further declines in COVID testing in the second half of the year, following the global rollout of vaccines. "The Group therefore remains strategically focused on driving growth in its core LSRT business," according to the document. Specifically, the firm expects LSRT revenues to grow 30 to 40 percent in 2021, and LSRT revenues to reach £165 million to £175 million in 2023. Last month , Oxford Nanopore reported a 119 percent increase in 2020 total revenues to £113.9 million, driven by £65.5 million in LSRT revenues and £48.3 million in COVID-19 testing revenue.